


A seed Hidden in the Heart

by Skuld09



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Kid Fic, Romance, teacher AU that no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2019-10-02 08:36:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 60,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17261021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skuld09/pseuds/Skuld09
Summary: Zelda Spellman, single mother, head of the Spellman household, and Baxter Highs new foreign language teacher. There was only one thing that Zelda lived for, fought for; family. But this new job will teach her something new, something she forgot a long time a go.A fluffy romantic teacher AU with a kid that no one asked for.Cross posted on Tumblr.Formally Madam Spellman Teacher AU





	1. The One Where They Meet

**Author's Note:**

> So I got a lot of positive response for this fic that I’m gonna start poasting it. I did get it reviewed by Mostlygayfluff, thank you for indulging me, but if anyone does have any suggestions because we’re only human, then let me know. I’m posting my story without a real title so if you guys think of one let me know! Thanks and enjoy!

Zelda Spellman made a lot of choices in her life. Some of them she made based on necessity, others based on nothing but her own selfish needs. There were the ones that she would stand behind until her death. There were ones that she regretted the moment she made them, the weight of her actions stabbing her deep in her gut. This was not one of them.

With a file box under her arm Zelda entered her new place of employment, Baxter High. After Labor day Zelda would be the schools new language teacher. The superintendent and the principle both drooled when they read over her certification that deemed her fluid in not one language like French or Spanish (which she was), but several including Russian and Chinese. It meant that they only needed to hire her, one woman that can do it all, instead of two or three, to simplify the budget to benefit the whole school. Zelda didn’t believe them for one second, and she felt bad for maybe half a second on behalf of the teachers who might of lost their jobs because of her. Zelda has never denied that she is a selfish woman, and she needed the job.

Zelda’s heels clicked against the linoleum floor, she was supposed to pick up her keys and badge from the school secretary, a sharp angle mousy blonde by the name of Mrs. Meeks. Mrs. Meeks gave her another box, much to her dismay, that had her name along with the number for her classroom, office number, and class schedule taped to the lid. Now with two boxes of considerable weight she turned to leave the office. That’s when she heard Mr. Hawthorne, principal and her new boss, call her name.

“Mrs. Spellman.” Mr. Hawthorne came up to her, a half a step too close for her liking. Zelda just gritted her teeth and held her tongue. “How are you settling in? Do you need help with those?” Before she could protest Mr. Hawthorne had already taken the boxes from her and started walking down the hallway. He talked all the while expecting Zelda to be following and listening to him. Yes, she did follow him, because he took her belongings. However, that didn’t mean she listened to a word he said. She focused more on where she was going, not listening to a life story she never wanted to hear. When they reached her classroom, Mr. Hawthorne opened the door with a smile that made her skin crawl. Zelda entered the space, silently observing the surrounding, her desk, students desk, chalkboards. “I believe I rambled on long enough.” Zelda just hummed and hoped with everything she had that Mr. Hawthorne would take his leave. “What about you Mrs. Spellman?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’m a very hands on principal, as you will come to learn now that you have joined our little family here at Baxter High.” He smiled at her again and Zelda fought the mental image of his wormy head popping open like a zit. It wouldn’t be pretty, and she sighed to rid herself of the thought. “And I’m always interested in how one of our members has come to join us.” Zelda froze where she was taking out her things from her first file box and, not for the first time, thanked whomever that he could not see her face as her heart stopped cold. Mr. Hawthorne’s words sounded no different than ones that she’s heard before back when…

“Mr. Hawthorne.” The sudden crashing of the present startled Zelda and she dropped her binder containing her lessons for French 1. Mr. Hawthorne, for the first time, ignored her as he turned his attention to the other woman. “Ms. Glover is looking for you.”

“Ah, thank you Ms. Wardwell.” Without even a word or a single glance at her Mr. Hawthorn left, brushing pass Ms. Wardwell. To her credit, Ms. Wardwell did not move from where she blocked half of the doorway, nor did she shrink away when Mr. Hawthorn had to flatten himself to get by her. When he left Ms. Wardwell rolled her eyes but didn’t take her leave, she ventured further into the room, her gaze never leaving Zelda. Before Zelda could yell at this woman to demand why she was entitled to enter her space Ms. Wardwell bent down elegantly at the knee to retrieve the binder that was still on the floor. She was careful of the binders rings falling open, and set it gently down on the empty desk.

“I don’t think there’s anything about Hawthorne I need to tell you that you haven’t already figured out yourself.” Ms. Wardwell’s eyes were a crystal clear blue, her finely shaped eyebrows arched elegantly. A half smirk formed on her lips, which were painted a red color that Zelda found sinful, as well as classic. “You seem like an intelligent woman Ms…”

“Spellman. Zelda Spellman.” Ms. Wardwell held out her hand, her nails were neat and painted a shiny red color similar to her lipstick. Her fingers were warm when Zelda offered her hand to shake, the action was firm and strong, it told Zelda all she needed to know about Ms. Wardwell.

“Mary Wardwell. Spellman, I have a student by that same name. Sabrina Spellman.”

“My niece.”

“Well then, now I know you’re an intelligent woman, Zelda Spellman.” Ms. Wardwell smiled at her in a way that Zelda could just make out a smirk. She turned to leave, her soft brown hair bounced on her shoulder like it was cotton. There was a trail of perfume that was sweet yet sharp, just like Ms. Wardwell. “See you around Ms. Spellman.” And just like that Ms. Wardwell was gone, the door closing behind her softly. Three whole minutes ticked by, before Zelda’s mind snapped out of it. She wasn’t even sure what had happened, and returned her focus to  _why_  she was here in the first place.

* * *

Zelda left Baxter High around four o’clock. With summer still clinging to life, the sun sat high and round in the sky. As luck would have it, no one else disturbed her and she was able to put the finishing touches on her classroom and office. On her way to the car she called her sister at her bookstore job to see if Hilda needed a ride home. Her sister was working late and the owner offered to take her home later. Zelda wasn’t a fan of Dr. Cerberus, but she bit her tongue for Hilda’s sake. So, she went home where the remainder of her family was. There was something calming about driving through the woods, it didn’t matter the time or the season. Zelda would always roll down the window, and no matter what happened that day it flew away with the wind. She parked her car on a patch of grass and walked up the porch steps, they creaked with her weight but it was comforting, it was home, just like her keys jingling in the lock.

“Mommy!” A little girl no more than four with blazing red hair that fell off her shoulders in neat ringlets sat and waited on the entry steps. Her little body rocked with excitement as she anticipated her sign that Zelda was ready to take her into her arms. Had the car ride not been sufficient in placing her in a better mood, her daughter surely would. She looked at her like she was everything, and it always made her smile. Zelda did not hesitate, she scooped her daughter from the steps, the little girls laugh rang in her ear and her skin felt soft when she pressed a kiss to the child’s tiny cheek.

“My darling, how I missed you. Did you behave for Sabrina? What did you do?” Vida lifted her head from her mother’s shoulder and launched into her childlike details on how she watched a few cartoons. Zelda didn’t approve of much TV and Vida didn’t care much for it. How she did the tree on the puzzle she and Hilda had on the table in the parlor. It was never a rule that no one could work on the Spellman sisters’ puzzle but Vida was the only one that was ever interested. She also proudly described how she finished a page of the workbook Zelda made for her to improve her language skill.

“Hello Auntie Zee.” Sabrina was in the kitchen, reading a book, she looked up when Zelda entered Vida perched on her hip. Zelda placed a kiss on top of the teen’s head as she placed her daughter in an unoccupied chair. “How’d it go?”

“Uneventful.” With Hilda working late it was up to her to prepare dinner. It wasn’t that she minded, it was just that Hilda was better at things like cooking and baking . There was chicken thawed in the fridge, she could work with that. “I did however, meet Ms. Wardwell. Is Ambrose here?”

“Really?” Sabrina perked up, her hands stopping mid motion where she was playing some clapping game with her cousin. “Didn’t I tell you she’s great! She-”

“Sabrina, Ambrose, is he here?” Zelda knew all about Ms. Wardwell, Sabrina hasn’t stopped talking about the teacher since last year. While she was grateful to place the name with a face, plus the help with Hawthorne, she didn’t need to hear more about Ms. Wardwell.

“Oh? No. He left a while ago to do… something. I thought best not to ask.” Smart girl, Zelda learned that it was best not to know where her nephew spent most of his time. “Ah! Before I forget, Aunt Zelda, Roz called and asked if I can go see a movie with her and Susie.”  _And Harvey_ , Sabrina didn’t need to say that part, Harvey was rarely not around when she went out with her friends. Zelda was not the most comfortable with her niece dating.

“What time will you be back?”

“Eleven?”

“Ten.”

“Ten-thirty, sharp.”

“Acceptable.” Sabrina squealed and hugged Zelda from behind, she left in a swirl of teenage whim. A sort of melecolly feeling over took Zelda as Sabrina buzzed around the house She understood that her niece was growing up, no longer content with staying home with her aunts, but Zelda still missed her, missed her family being here. She had Vida who, when Zelda turned back around to place the extra chicken back in the fridge, was smiling at her from the back of the chair.

“Am I writing Aunt Hilda’s post-it?” Her intuitive little girl, Zelda nodded and while the chicken was cooking in the pan she washed her hands and gave her daughter the pad of paper from the fridge. Whenever Hilda couldn’t join them, Zelda got things ready for when she got home. It often included a portion of the nights meal in the fridge with a note written by Vida (sometimes with touches from Ambrose or Sabrina), tea leafs in her cup covered with a saucer, and kettle on the burner ready to go. Zelda would admit that she hadn’t been the best, most supportive sister, but Vida, who loved so deeply and knew how to care for others, helped. Along with the chicken, Zelda fixed some rice and broccoli. Vida was like any typical child and didn’t want to eat vegetables, but Hilda was always baking something. This time it was blondies that she spent all last Sunday afternoon making, and they made for excellent bribes. Vida was rarely disappointing, and she was munching on a small square of blondie as Zelda finished.

After dinner and dishes, Vida would read from her book with help from Zelda. Very early on she supplied her daughter with books in several languages, mainly English and French. Vida enjoyed this part of the day, being curled up in her mother’s lap, that strong steady heartbeat and soft breathing that soothed her since before she was born. When she started to show the first signs of sleepiness, which was usually around 8:30, Zelda would take her daughter upstairs to ready her for bed; bath with bubblegum bubble bath and strawberry scented shampoo that added even more sweetness to the air, fresh PJ’s, teeth brushed, and then cocooned in her blankets with her favorite always in reach, Hilda knitted it for her from soft thick blue yarn when Zelda told her that she was pregnant. Last was Oso, her favorite stuffed black bear that was missing one eye, tucked under her arm. Zelda stayed until the small girl’s breathing become deep and slow, leaving one last small kiss on the girl’s temple. Zelda then got ready for bed herself, but didn’t go to sleep till much later. Sometimes she’d go back downstairs and wait for Hilda to return. Other times she would turn on the small lamp so she could read without disturbing her daughter who was in the same room. Before Vida was born, she used to share the room with her sister but Hilda has since moved down the hall.

Tonight, she stayed up reading but not really absorbing what was on the page. Instead she listened, the front door slamming softly shut and the whistle of the kettle at twenty to ten which meant that Hilda was home. Then there was the creaking of the floorboards at eleven o’five when Sabrina tried to sneak back into the house at lights out, thirty five minutes past her curfew. Zelda finally settled down, hanging her robe on her bed post and switching off the light. The room plunged into total darkness, minus the soft pulse of her daughters elephant night light. The night was peaceful and warm, the air was filled with the soft sounds of crickets, Zelda had no problem falling asleep.

Her life might not be perfect, nor one she expected to have, but regret? She had none.


	2. The One With the First Day That Came From Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay chapter 2! I'm going to be posting new chapters every other Sunday/ Monday and of course thanks you to my lovely beta Mostlygayfuluff. Enjoy!

September the third marked the day that Zelda became a working mother. 

 

On Tuesday, her alarm went off at five AM. Vida whimpered but settled back down when Zelda turned it off. She showered and did her hair and makeup in the bathroom, usually she did all this at her vanity out of habit from when she shared the room with Hilda, but now it was to not disturb her daughter. So when she exited her room, shoes in hand to silence her presence, she was fully dressed, hair perfectly in place. Her makeup and everything about her was immaculate as she made her way downstairs for breakfast. At the hour still clinging to five she was the only one who was up, hard boiling an egg, placing toast in the toaster, and turning on the coffee machine. It didn’t take much effort and it was rather soothing listening to the bubbling of the water and the aroma of french roast coffee wafting in the air. At around six thirty Hilda came down, bubbly as ever, with Sabrina, still half-asleep, trailing behind her. Zelda was reading through the newspaper that came in the mail the day before. Sometimes it would be the local paper, but usually it was a paper from an outside source in another language. Mostly French or Russian, a hobby of hers that became a part of her routine, keeping the papers was new though. By seven, they would know if Ambrose came home, he’d come in a robe and slippers half desperate for a bowl of cereal. Zelda made her way back upstairs, she needed to be leaving for the school by seven thirty but she wanted to say goodbye to her still sleeping daughter. Vida was sleeping in the center of the bed on her stomach, still wrapped in her blankets and holding Oso by one of his fuzzy paws. Gently, Zelda fell to her knees by the bed where her daughter slept, pressing a kiss on the girls head.

 

“See you later my sweet girl.” Vida murmured a little and Zelda held her breath, fearful that she woke her daughter, but the girl settled down once again. As carefully as she did coming in, Zelda left, she made it to the door when her daughters voice stopped her.

 

“Mommy?” When Zelda turned back around, Vida moved so that she was facing her mother.

 

“Go back to sleep baby. Mommy has to go to work. Aunt Hilda will take you to school, I just wanted to say goodbye.”

 

“Okay. Love you Mommy.” Zelda couldn’t help the tears that stung her eyes, she just felt so much for her daughter, her precious little girl. Zelda went back and gave Vida another kiss, this time on her cheek. When they hugged, her daughter’s small arms felt warm and heavy on her shoulders.

 

“I love you too my darling.” The clock sounded the half hour and Zelda reluctantly left her daughters side, it wouldn’t look good if she was late on her first day. Hilda and Sabrina were waiting by the door, Hilda sent them off with a hug and a packed lunch.

Zelda made it with five minutes to spare. Before the holiday break she had everything already set up. Her first class syllabus as well this school year student planner were already set up on the desks, which she arranged in neat rows and attendance sheets on her desk, dated and ready to go. At the sound of the bell, students started trickling in, before the late bell rang she had all seventeen of her students for French 3, they made a strong impression on Zelda.

 

From there the day seemed to be going well. Her Russian and Italian classes went relatively well minus a poor freshman student who ended up in her class by mistake. It was at the start of period 4 when the day started to blow up in her face. At the end of third period she had to step out to use the restroom, it was only five minutes, seven tops, but when she came back her students, jocks by the look of their jackets, had destroyed her class room. Desks were pushed out of line and there were smudges on her black boards that weren’t there before, caused most likely by the football that was being tossed around. That same football smacked her right in the face. At least it got them to settle down. Despite the setback, and the stinging of her cheek, Zelda carried on like nothing happened.

 

“Alright students, listen up I’m only going to say this once. I don't like to repeat myself so if you miss it that’s on you. My name is Ms. Spellman and I am here to teach you Spanish not to be your friend, or your babysitter. I’m an educator here to educate a group of young adults, I expect you all to act as such. Which means I don’t want to see that football again in my class Mr. Grinwis, next time you lose it.” The whole class looked at him, he tried not to flush with embarrassment as he slouched in his seat hiding his football in his jacket. “By the end of the week I expect you all who didn’t read the supply list to have a composition notebook that will be used for this class and this class only. You will be leaving your notebooks in here, placing them in the designated bin for this class.” Zelda indicated the row of bins that sat on the window ledge behind her desk, each bin had a tab on the front that had the period and class. “Those of you who do not have a notebook by the following Monday will lose half a point everyday until you acquire one. Those who did read the supply list and already have a notebook will receive five extra credit points. By the end of class place your notebooks in the bin with your names written on them like they say in your syllabus.” Some of her students groaned while a few smiled, Zelda was already making notes on who was getting those extra credit points. “Now I won’t be going over the whole syllabus, I’m sure you can do that on your own, but these are some things I will point out…” She discussed the syllabus until the lunch bell, her students practically ran out of the room except Rosalind and Susie who lingered to place their journals, properly filled out, in the bin. 

 

By then her cheek was killing her, she was hoping to avoid having to do it but it looked like she was going to the nurses office. The trip turned out to be a complete waste of time, the nurse asked her a bunch of questions before sending her with an ice pack and calling it a day. Zelda scoffed, making a mental note to keep aspirin in her desk, but couldn’t dwell on it. She was hungry for lunch. Lunch turned out to be a turkey sandwich with apple slices, sun baked chips, and a drink pouch that Zelda couldn’t confirm wasn’t for Sabrina. Zelda wasn’t going to complain. The ice numbed her cheek enough to get through most of her sandwich but by her apple slices it became difficult to chew let alone bite.

 

“That looks serious.” Mary Wardwell stood in her doorway again, this time to her private office where Zelda took her lunch, wanting some peace. “What happened?”

 

“Football to the jaw.”

 

“ _ Boys _ .” The amount of venom in Ms. Wardwell’s voice would have surprised Zelda if she didn’t already know about her fellow teachers dislike for the football players. It was one of the reasons why Sabrina liked Ms. Wardwell. “Think that they can get away with anything. Here,” Ms. Wardwell held out a small white bottle. “I heard you might need these.” Aspirin, Zelda took two dry having finished the juice pouch. When she looked up ready to give back the bottle, Ms. Wardwell was gone leaving nothing behind but the smell of her perfume. For a moment Zelda thought she was delusional but she couldn’t have imagined the woman, the evidence was in her hands. Which led her to wonder, how did Ms. Wardwell learn about the forming bruise on her face?

 

“Auntie Zee are you okay?” Sabrina, it made perfect sense now. Rosalind and Susie were in her class when it happened, they told her niece and somewhere along the way Ms. Wardwell heard. Reassuring her niece took the rest of the lunch hour, but Zelda suspected that Sabrina still had doubts that she was truly okay.

* * *

 

 

Four o’clock could not be more of a relief for Zelda. She didn’t have anything to grade, first day of the school year and all, but Principal Hawthorne called a staff meeting when she was packing up for the day. It was a little irritating, she had cleaned and set up her black boards for the next day, her cheek was throbbing again, and all she wanted was to go home and be with her family, she missed her daughter terribly. Her irritation boiled to a seething rage when it became clear that the meeting was about  _ football _ of all things. Mr. Hawthorne made it clear, in an off handed manner that just deepended her anger, that all staff members were to attend Greendale Highs first home game of the season which was this Saturday. It took him an hour to say this and she could tell that she wasn’t the only one that was not pleased with having to attend and having her time wasted with something that could be announced over the intercom or in a memo. Ms. Wardwell looked particularly murderous, she kept glaring, her eyes looked darker than their crystal blue color, and her fingers wouldn’t stop tapping against the long wood table that the teaching staff gathered around. She was the first to leave when they were dismissed, scowling in a way that everyone heard her as she walked out the door. Zelda was not that far behind her, gathering her things so that she could leave straight to her car, but Mr. Hawthorne asked if she could stay for a minute, considering what mood she was in he should be grateful that she planted her feet and placed on the most civilized smile she could muster.

 

“Was there something else you needed Mr. Hawthorne?”

 

“I just wanted to see how you were feeling after your first day. I heard about the um…”

 

“The football that was being thrown in my class and struck me in the face.”

 

“Yes, that. It looks quite painful.” Zelda didn’t need Mr. Hawthorne to tell her that. When she went to the bathroom not long after school let out she saw her own face and cringed. That blasted football hit her on the apple of her cheek, the bruise spread to look like she had a black eye and the color… no wonder her sixth period Chinese class wouldn’t look her in the face, it was ghastly, black and blue with a hint of red and her cheek swelled about half its normal size. “It was an unfortunate accident I’m sure?” That tone, it made her sick, because while it was an accident, if on the off chance it wasn’t it was going to be written as such and there was nothing she could do about that.

 

“Is that all Mr. Hawthorne? I’m tired and would like to start heading home.”

 

“Of course. Would you like an escort?”

 

“No thank you Mr. Hawthorne I can manage on my own.”

 

“Oh. Very well. What about Saturday? I know Greendale isn’t that big but did you need a ride to the game or afterwards?” A violent shiver went down Zelda’s back at the thought of being alone with Mr. Hawthorne, she didn’t like being alone in a room with him a car was just unthinkable.

 

“No thank you Mr. Hawthorne I’m sure I can manage. May I?” Mr. Hawthorne barely nodded when she, in a single swoop, took her case and coat and took her leave. When she glanced at her watch the time was four thirty, a whole half hour wasted, on something she didn’t care about when all she wanted to do was to go home and be with her daughter. 

 

Ten minutes later Zelda was pulling up in front of Greendale Elementary, she remembered the building back when Sabrina was a student and it hasn’t change at all. Students waited with teachers as parents came in and out, most of them on foot, to collect their children. Students who had a sibling or relatives in the upper schools or in grade fourth or higher were allowed to walk home themselves, only with parental consent, at least that’s what Zelda remembered back when Sabrina was a grade schooler. Vida was waiting for her in the small school yard, supervised by a teacher as she and other children played on the jungle gym, swinging as high as her little legs could take her.

 

“Mommy!” When her feet touched the ground she ran over to Zelda. Hilda did her hair in pigtails they bounced like little springs. She scooped her daughter up, holding her close.

 

“Hello my darling, you have no idea how I missed you. Did you have a good day?” Her daughter just nodded, she was probably just as tired as Zelda was. Zelda located a teacher, another thing she remember from Sabrina was that only an authorized person (a list which was provided at enrollment) can take the child, if they were grade three or under one teacher would have a list of all the students and Zelda signed by her daughters name. Vida was asleep by the time Zelda placed her in her car seat, she looked peaceful, shadows of the woods and the leaves playing across her face as they drove home after a long day. Nothing felt better.


	3. The One With Football and Milkshakes

The weekend felt like the bright light at the end of a very long tunnel for Zelda. Her fourth period Spanish class continued to cause her problems, as if the football incident wasn’t enough. Fourth period Spanish and fifth period French 1 were her biggest classes, a total of twenty five students each. By the end of the week all but seven of her Spanish students have turned in a journal, and Zelda didn’t like the look they gave her when she warned them about having the journal the following Monday. By Friday she was losing her patience with Seth Grinwis and his friends, they disrupted her class all week with outbursts and comotions that almost rivaled the football incident. On Friday, they came into class, smug as ever, and talked all throughout the warm-up. They didn’t even do the warm-up. She set up a folder so students who still didn’t have a journal could turn in the warm-up on loose leaf paper with the rest of class when the five minutes for warm-up were done. When they came back from lunch, Seth Grinwis and company were absent. Zelda was beyond relieved, class free of distraction, it was the best Spanish lesson that week.

On Saturday, Zelda woke up refreshed. It was a good time to be in the Spellman house. Hilda had a mountain of food made; pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, and assorted homemade jams would crowd their kitchen table, surrounded by the whole family still in their pjs. Sabrina and Ambrose shared the bench, their plates piled high with bacon. Vida sat across from them trying to eat a pancake whole, strawberry jam dripping everywhere until Zelda came up behind her and cut it up to more manageable pieces. Zelda’s place was at the head of the table, closest to the window. The sun light shining behind her made it ideal to read her paper with. Zelda ate half a pancake with some sausage, a little egg, and a top of a biscuit lightly buttered, the bottom half went to Vida.

“Mommy are you excited?”

“Vida don’t talk with your mouth full, you know better. About what baby?” Zelda waited a minute for a reply as her daughter washed away the remainder of the biscuit with freshly squeezed orange juice.

“The zoo! We’re still going right?” Zelda’s blood ran cold as her heart stopped. She had completely forgotten that she promised to take her daughter to the zoo. She’d been promising to do it all summer, but was waiting until the weather was a bit cooler and the tickets were a bit cheaper. And of course, before Hawthorne making her attend the game this afternoon.

“We can’t go to the zoo Vida.”

“Why?”

“Because Mommy’s boss is making her attend the football game this afternoon.”

“But we had plans first!” Vida slammed her little fist on the table. Very rarely would Vida throw a tantrum, but it was ugly when she did. She had her mother’s temper which made her a force to be reckoned with.

“I know we did baby, but we will go, I promise.”

“You’ve been saying that for months! I want down!” Hilda jumped in her seat but helped her niece down from her booster seat. Zelda just sat frozen in her seat with tears in her eyes as she heard her daughters small footsteps run out of the room.

“I can’t believe Hawthorne is making you attend the game.”

“Neither can I, but there isn’t anything I can do about it Sabrina.” With breakfast done, Zelda went to look for her daughter. There weren’t many places where Vida would run to, Zelda found her in her chair on the porch. She looked so small curled in on herself on the seat of the chair and was crying, cheeks red and covered with tracks. “Oh baby.” Zelda’s heart finally broke, she hated seeing her daughter like that especially when she caused it. This made Zelda hurt even more. Vida did not resist as Zelda picked her up and pressed her close, cradling her to her chest. Zelda cried along with her daughter, they were both hurt and the only place that hurt could go was out. “I know I keep letting you down but we will go, I’ll get the tickets for next Saturday, promise.” Vida lifted her head, her eyes were as red as her face and a stray tear escaped which Zelda whipped away with a soft brush of her knuckle. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Vida gave her a small smile, it was enough to mend her heart.

“Let’s go back inside.” Vida just hummed and placed her head back on her mother’s shoulder as Zelda carried her back into the house.

* * *

 

It shaped up to be a great afternoon. The sun was shining in a cloudless blue sky and the temperature remained in the high sixties. It ticked Zelda off that she had to waste it, rather than properly enjoy it with her daughter.

After breakfast, Zelda got ready in a flowing red sundress and dressed Vida in a t-shirt and skirt. They along with Hilda and Sabrina, left. Hilda was working and Sabrina was meeting her friends at the game, which was why Vida was coming. Zelda didn’t trust Ambrose not after he let Sabrina, who was two at the time, cut out several chunks of her own hair with kitchen shears. He had grown since then, but Zelda worried less if Vida was with her. With advice from Sabrina, Zelda parked the car near the bookshop where Hilda worked. When they arrived at the school, the lots, even the faculty parking, was full. There was a huge crowd leading to the stadium, and there were even more people when they got inside. When she spotted her friends, Sabrina went off with them. Zelda went to the starting end zone for Baxter High where her fellow staff members were conjugating. That part of the field was the divider between the football field and the baseball diamond, so there was plenty of room to walk around. Some of the cafeteria tables had been brought out for extra seating.

“Mrs. Spellman!” It was Mr. Hawthorne, he was dressed in his usual suit, which explained why his face was flushed with sweat. “Glad you could join us.” Like I had a choice said the voice in Zelda’s head. Hilda called it her ‘bitch voice’, and there was a time and a place for it. This was, unfortunately, not one of them. “Who’s this?” He looked down at her daughter. Vida had moved to hide behind her, she didn’t like strangers leering at her.

“This is my daughter Vida. Vida this is my boss Mr. Hawthorne.” Zelda didn’t expect her daughter to reply, but it would be a sort of comfort to her daughter to know why someone was speaking to them.

“Oh! I didn’t know that you had a daughter.” The look on Mr. Hawthorne’s face… Zelda might of imagined it, but it looked dejected. Zelda didn’t know why he would feel that way, especially not because of her daughter. “Well, have a seat anywhere you like. The game is going to start soon.” Mr. Hawthorne gave her a small smile and turned in the direction of the field. Zelda looked around for a spot that wasn’t too crowded, but still had some protection from the sun. She remembered to place sunscreen on herself and Vida, but she didn’t want to tempt fate. There was a tree on a slight swell of a hill that was the perfect distance from the field. In her tote bag, Zelda packed a blanket, which she laid on the ground in the shade. Zelda sat with her back pressed against the tree trunk while Vida, after she was done running around, sprawled laying on her back. When they were hungry they had the sandwiches that Hilda quickly prepared for them, and water from the water bottle that Zelda fixed up before leaving home.

“Well you certainly have the right idea.”

“Ms. Wardwell.” Mary Wardwell looked stunning. The history teacher pulled off the white t-shirt with jeans exceptionally well and the sun made the highlights in her hair shine. Ms. Wardwell’s makeup was light but her lips were still their signature red color. “How are you enjoying the game?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

“No, but it’s polite.”

“How true.” Vida, who was reading one of her Madeline books, looked at Ms. Wardwell but didn’t show the same fear as she did with Hawthorne. “And who might you be?” Ms. Wardwell bent down so that she was at eye level with the small girl.

“V-Vida?”

“Are you sure about that?” Zelda smiled as her daughter puffed out her cheeks at Ms. Wardwell’s teasing smile.

“Yes. My name is Vida Spellman.”

“Well nice to meet you Vida Spellman, I’m Mary Wardwell.” Ms. Wardwell held out her hand to the small girl, the child’s hand barely covered her palm. “Would you mind if I joined you?” Vida looked at her mother, Zelda smiled and gently nodded.

“Yes!” Zelda bit her lip to stifle a laugh. Her daughter didn’t understand the way that Mary asked she was supposed to say no, but Ms. Wardwell smiled all the same and joined them on the blanket. Through the rest of the first half of the game, Ms. Wardwell nodded along as Vida rambled on about Madeline and her adventures. Vida had read the book so many times that she could read them all by herself even though it was in French. During half time Zelda left to go to the bathroom, she asked Vida to come along with her but her daughter didn’t want to go.

“I don’t mind watching her Zelda. You go, we’ll still be here when you get back.” Zelda wanted to protest. She didn’t know the first thing about Ms. Wardwell, nothing personal that would tell her to trust this woman with the most important thing in her life. But Vida looked content so Zelda agreed. On her way back Mr. Hawthorne spotted her and he waved her over to where he was standing.

“Mrs. Spellman, how are you enjoying the game? Can you believe that we’re about to win against Riverdale? They’re our biggest rivals in the division.”

“Oh really?”

“Indeed.” Hawthorne then launched into a ten minute spiel on the history of Greendale’s rivalry with Riverdale. It sounded more like a slaughter to Zelda, Greendale hasn’t one a single game against the other school in almost three years.

“I’m sorry Mr. Hawthorne.” Mr. Hawthorne stopped mid sentence. He looked like a gulping fish before closing his mouth. “But I have to cut this short. My daughter is waiting for me.”

“Yes. Of course. Your daughter. How old is she?”

“She’s four.” Zelda tensed. She didn’t like talking about her personal life, especially when it concerned her daughter.

“And how long have you and your husband been married?”

“I don’t believe I ever mentioned having a husband. I’m not married.”

“Oh- I just- with the- and…” Mr. Hawthorne’s face went even more red than it was before, and he walked away still stuttering.

When Zelda returned, she found that Vida had made herself at home in Mary’s lap. She was reading aloud from her book, in perfect pronunciation that made Zelda flush with pride. Mary was nodding along, occasionally parroting some of the words. She looked up at Zelda and winked. Zelda took her old spot next to the tree but placed herself an inch closer to Mary, inhaling that subtle perfume, it smelt even more wonderful in the late summer air. And while she will deny it, Zelda dozed off, her head resting on Mary Wardwell’s shoulder. Mary didn’t seem to mind one bit.

* * *

 

Greendale ended up losing the game in the last quarter. After half time Greendale gave up a touchdown with a conversion and a field goal. It was almost five when Zelda and Mary folded up the blanket. They left through the cafeteria, it got them around the heavy crowd. While fall was still a few weeks away, the sun was going down earlier, it hung low and bright orange.

“Where are we going now Mommy?”

“Well, I was thinking we get chicken fingers and perhaps milkshakes.” Zelda smiled at the bright look on her daughter’s face. While Vida seemed to let go of her sadness about the zoo, Zelda didn’t forget. And Vida behaved herself so well at the game.

“Can Mary come!?” While Zelda held Vida’s left hand, half way into town Vida took her free hand and placed it into Marry’s. Hence why Ms. Wardwell was still walking with them.

“Why don’t you ask Mary if she’d like to join us?”

“Mary, would you join us for chicken fingers and milkshakes?”

“I would love to!” The squeal that left Vida was deafening but the smile was worth it. It was the happiest that Zelda had seen her in a long time. It was also how the three of them ended up sharing a corner booth at Hilda’s work. Hilda supplied them with a large platter of chicken fingers and milkshakes for Vida and, to Zelda’s surprise, Mary. Zelda had hot tea with honey and a splash of milk. Vida’s favorite milkshake was strawberry mint, while Mary stuck with an old classic, vanilla.

“I’ll be back.” Vida, who was in the curve of the booth between Zelda and Mary, ducked under the table to come out the other side.

“Where are you going baby?”

“I’m going to find Aunt Hilda so she can take me to the bathroom.” Zelda nodded and watched until Vida found Hilda.

That left her, Mary, and a half eaten platter of chicken fingers. Zelda twirled a french fry between her fingertips and looked anywhere but at Mary Wardwell. Eventually she was forced to look at the teacher because there was only so much of the decor she could stomach. Mary caught her looking, and they locked eyes over Mary’s milkshake glass. Mary’s smirk and the lipstick imprint on her straw caused a slight flush of Zelda's cheeks.

“You have one amazing daughter Zelda.”

“Thank you.” Zelda’s voice became soft, almost a whisper. “Some days I just hope that I’m doing it right.” Vida was not the first child Zelda had raised. She and Hilda have brought up Sabrina since she was a babe. And Zelda went through the ‘what ifs’, and the worrying, but when Vida came she brought all that back. All of Zelda’s fears and concerns played in her mind, making her second guess every decision when it came to Vida. But her love for her daughter, her determination to be the best mother possible, kept her grounded. It allowed her to enjoy those small moments.

“Well, from where I’m sitting.” There was a squeak of leather as Mary slid over to Zelda. “You’re doing a fantastic job.”

Zelda huffed and summoned all her willpower to not cry in front of Mary. Her dignity wouldn’t survive. Try as she might a tear fought through, it slid halfway down her cheek before it was brushed away by a gentle knuckle.

“I’m glad your cheek is looking better.”

“Completely healed.” Zelda replied with a weak smile.

Mary nodded, her hair slightly brushed Zelda’s face. She then moved back to her side of the booth like it was nothing the way she comforted Zelda in the middle of the bookshop. Mary’s smile had changed, it wasn’t its usual smirk, it was softer. Vida came back with Hilda, who wasn’t dressed in her usual Frankenstein dress, but rather in her regular everyday clothes.

“I found Aunt Hilda!”

“I see that baby.” Zelda smiled and got out of the booth. Vida crawled back in, scooting as close to Mary as possible without being on top of the teacher. Mary didn’t mind, she playfully nudged the little girl causing her to giggle. Hilda sat next to Zelda, letting out a small groan.

“I just need five minutes.” Hilda picked up the chicken tender that Zelda half finished, not caring that it went cold. She ate it in two quick bites.

“Tough day?”

“Long.” Hilda squeaked and dropped the chicken tender that she was taking from the basket. “Dear lord, where are my manners? Hi, I’m Hilda Spellman. Let me guess, Ms. Wardwell?”

“The one and only. My, I must be lucky meeting two Spellmans in one day.”

“Aunt Hilda, Mary’s my new friend!”

“That’s great love. What did you do today? How was the game?” Vida led the conversation when she wasn’t munching on a chicken tender or taking sips of her milkshake. When the basket ran empty, Hilda got out of booth and stretched with a groan.

“Ready to go?” They left the table, Zelda holding one of Vida’s hands, Hilda grabbing the other. Mary walked next to Zelda, admiring the small family scene. “Would you like a ride home Ms. Wardwell?”

“Please call me Mary, Hilda, and no I think I’ll walk. It’s a lovely night after all.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. I’ll be fine but I thank you for the concern Zelda.” Mary waited on the corner as the Spellmans got into Zelda’s car. Zelda saw her in the driver's side mirror before Mary completely disappeared in the blackness of the night.

The car ride home was filled with Vida’s soft snoring. Hilda turned the radio on but kept the volume down so that it was a low hum. Zelda focused on the woods. The temperature had cooled when the sun went down but the sky was void of cloud, filling the night with stars. Mary was right, it was a beautiful night.


	4. The One With Lions and Tigers and Bears ,Oh My!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I 100% made a Wizard of Oz referance. Don't judge.

Teaching was an up and down battle for Zelda. It became apparent by the results of the practice test that her French 3 class was nowhere near where Zelda wanted them to be. She spent Sunday rewriting her lessons to accommodate what her student’s weren’t taught the previous year. However, she did not slack on the expectations of her students. She spoke very little english in her lessons and she expected the same in return. There was no point in teaching a new language if you didn’t use it. She could tell that her students were a bit frustrated, but their results showed improvement. Zelda saw the pride on their faces when they read her notes in their journals underneath the daily warm up. She was even harder on her second period Russian, third period Italian, and sixth period Chinese. She made it clear on day one that her class was not going to be easy. Everyday she went over something new and some of it she expected her students to study on their own. By the end of the week she got notice that three of her students have dropped out, but she expected that reaction. Students at Baxter High were encouraged to take Spanish or French, enrollment from level 1 to level 2 was automatic. All students had to do was earn a ‘D’ average and they moved on. Italian, Russian, and Chinese weren’t even counted as Language Arts credits. They were electives that students could take to boost their GPAs, and there were much easier classes offered other than hers. It was insulting really, Zelda put in a lot of hard work to get to where she was, and her expectations were exactly the same as her own teachers had of her.

Hence why she started to ignore Seth Grinwis and his friends. It was clear that they did not come to her class to learn. They sat at their desks not taking out a single pen or book, and never turned in homework or a journal. At least she curved their disruptive behavior after kicking them out of her class three days in a row. They came in on Thursday looking thoroughly cold but they stayed silent. It was better than nothing. On the flip side, the students who did come to learn were making great strides. On Friday, Zelda had them start reading out loud from sections of the textbook to test both their pronunciation and comprehension.

And while her classes were going relatively well, there was one major problem that Zelda couldn’t figure out how to solve. On Wednesday, she came to the sudden realization that she still hadn’t bought the tickets for the zoo like she promised. She spent her lunch on hold with the box office only to find out that the zoo was closed to the public until spring. Zelda sat in her office, trying to control her breathing. She could feel her anger bubbling to the surface, not that she could do anything with it. She was at work and she didn’t want to get fired over her yelling at an automatic phone message. She took her anger out on the one thing she could, her phone. She slammed it down on her desk, it slid and hit the corner of the trash can before falling to the floor.

“Now I believe that’s a form of technological abuse.”

“Hello Mary.”

“Zelda.” Mary entered her office stopping only to pick up Zelda’s phone from the floor. She handed it back to Zelda, it now sported some new cracks in the left corner. “Here you go. Now, tell me what happened?” Mary perched herself on the edge of Zelda’s desk. She crossed her legs at the knee, causing the black pencil skirt she wore to ride up, it showed off her long legs.

“I promised Vida that I take her to the zoo. They’re closed as of last week. And I-”

“Let me guess. You were going to take her but Hawthorne happened.”

“I don’t know what I am going to do.” Mary tilted her head and hummed. Zelda couldn’t tell what Mary was doing exactly but it sort of looked like thinking.

“You are going to leave it all to me.” Zelda quirked an eyebrow at Mary’s smirk but the bell rang, ending lunch. Somehow, she wasn’t even sure how, she was able to put on a brave face and continue teaching. When the last of her students left for the day she started cleaning and prepping her blackboards for the next day. The scent of diluted vinegar and chalk kept her grounded. She never fully let go of her anger from lunch, she was good at hiding her feelings.

“Knock knock.” Zelda looked up from her notes for her second period Russian class to see Mary leaning against the doorway.

“Mary.”

“Come now Zelda have a little bit of humor. When someone says ‘knock knock’ you’re supposed to say who’s there.”

“Is there something I can help you with Ms. Wardwell?”

“Now, there’s no need to be mean. Especially since I fixed your little zoo problem.”

“You what?”

“I called a person who knows a person and they arrange admittance for you and Vida this Sunday.”

“Oh my god Mary I…” Zelda didn’t know what came over her but before she knew it she was hugging Mary. Mary gave a quick gasp of surprise but didn’t stiffen in discomfort. It only lasted a minute before Zelda grabbed hold of herself and released Mary. “You didn’t need to do that Mary. I don’t… I don’t even know how to repay you.”

“Well one, you can stop thanking me, it’s unnecessary. Second, say ‘hi’ to Stolas for me.” Zelda’s eyebrows scrunched together but before she could ask, Mary winked at her and left.

Vida was beyond excited when Zelda told her after dinner. She was never a hyperactive child, but that night she wouldn’t settle down even as Zelda tucked her into bed. She was still awake when Zelda came out of the bathroom freshly showered and dressed in her nightgown.

“Vida you need to go to sleep. You have school tomorrow.”

“I know but I’m so excited!” Zelda smiled as Vida squealed, clutching Oso close to her chest. Zelda sat on the edge of her daughter’s bed, her daughter scooted closer to her.

“We have to thank Mary for getting us the tickets then.” Vida nodded, ringlets brushing over her pillow. Zelda didn’t tell her daughter the whole truth, mainly about the zoo being close. She told Vida that she couldn’t get the tickets because of work and Mary offered to get them for her. Vida’s face turned bright and she started stuttering over her words. “Vida calm down and think for a minute.” Vida stopped and took a deep breath. “Okay now tell Mommy what’s going on in your head.”

“I want Mary to come with! Can you ask her?”

“Baby, I don’t think Mary will be interested in going to the zoo. She might have plans.”

“But how do you know unless you ask?”

“That’s a good point. Okay, I’ll ask but you have to go to sleep.”

“Okay! Goodnight Mommy.”

“Goodnight baby.” Zelda hugged her daughter and kissed her cheek. Vida finally settled down in her blankets, moving to her side to curl around Oso. She was finally asleep when Zelda came back from downstairs. Zelda gave her one last kiss before going to bed.

* * *

 

Zelda didn’t ask Mary until Friday.

There was no reason other than Zelda didn’t know how to go about asking Mary to join them. At first Zelda was hesitant to ask at all. She promised just to get Vida to sleep, but now her daughter expected an answer. Zelda could lie and say Mary said no and was busy with adult things, but every time she thought of it, Vida’s hurt face flashed in her mind. If anything Vida deserved an honest answer. And what in god names made Mary Wardwell so special? Before her very eyes Mary Wardwell was slowly winning over her entire family, and Zelda didn’t know how or why. It started first with Sabrina, and now with Vida, it had gotten to the point that even Hilda commented on how lovely Ms. Wardwell was. It was strange the way they were all so captivated by the woman, and Zelda would be lying if she said she didn’t feel the slightest twinge of jealousy. But she was equally captivated, and even if she wasn’t Zelda would do anything for her daughter, which was why she found herself knocking on the door frame of Ms. Wardwell’s office.

“Zelda, what a surprise.” In a way it was, this was the first time Zelda had proactively seeked out Ms. Wardwell rather than vice versa. Mary usually came to her, coming and going like a gust of wind.

Mary’s office had an old vintage scholar vibe to it with tall arched bookcases stuffed with books and small pieces of artwork in neat square frames. Mary was sitting in a round curved back wooden chair with her long legs crossed on her desk. Zelda found it unlady like.

“Vida has asked if you would like to join us at the zoo this Sunday, as a thank you for getting us in.”

“Well that’s an invitation I can’t refuse.” There was something about Ms. Wardwell’s tone that Zelda she didn’t like. It was almost similar to the way that Mary would talk about Hawthorne.

“I don’t quite care for your tone Ms. Wardwell.”

“That makes two of us _Ms. Spellman_.” Zelda fought her reaction to gasp. Instead she spun on her heel and left.

By lunch, Zelda’s anger had subsided and it dawned on her what she had done. She took her anger out on Ms. Wardwell for no reason other than to satisfy her uneasiness towards the woman. The realization made her sick, and Hilda’s tuna salad wasn’t helping. It went straight to the trash. The right thing to do was to apologize, but for what? ‘Sorry I was a bitch to you because I can’t stand the thought of someone else winning over my family?’ Zelda would rather die than admit that. She couldn’t think of anything else to say and she didn’t see Ms. Wardwell the rest of day. Which led to her next dilemma, what was she going to tell Vida? She had just turned the woman away and essentially withdrawn the invitation. There was no way Mary would join them after what she had done, how she had acted.

* * *

 

Zelda ended up telling Vida that Mary couldn’t go, and her daughter wasn’t happy, she jutted her lip out in a pout that only lasted a minute. What Zelda would never admit to her daughter was that her own actions were the reason Mary wasn’t coming. Regardless, the next day Vida woke up excited, wanting to run out the door still in her pjs.

It was a long drive to the zoo, which was in the next town over. Riverdale was bigger than Greendale by a few thousand people and a whole business district, where Greendale was mostly woods and farmland. It was thirty minutes out, forty with the traffic, but it was worth it when they arrived. Zelda had to let go of Vida’s hand because while her daughter wasn’t very strong, her shoulder was starting to hurt from all the tugging this early on. When they reached the gates, it dawned on Zelda that she didn’t know how they were going to get in. Mary used her connections to get them in when it was closed to the public, and Zelda was reminded again that she had bit her head off for no good reason just two days prior. She didn’t have the luxury to panic this time, her daughter was with her, and currently fascinated with a large sign with penguins on it. Vida counted on her, but that didn’t change the fact she had no idea what to do to get them inside.

The sound of Vida squealing snapped Zelda’s attention back to her daughter, her heart stopped for a moment thinking something was wrong. It only lasted for a moment because Vida was perfectly fine, she was laughing as Mary tickled her from behind.

“You came.” It came out in a gasp, but that was all Zelda could manage. Mary turned away from Vida to look at Zelda, who’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Why?”

“Because I was given an invitation that I couldn’t refuse.” Zelda opened her mouth to say something, but came up with nothing. She didn’t know what, but she felt like she should say something, anything.Vida was growing impatient, jumping up and down, it was clear she wanted to start seeing the animals. Zelda followed as Mary grabbed Vida's other hand, and led them into the zoo.

* * *

 

They took a break at a quarter to two, and by then Zelda was exhausted. There wasn’t anything Vida didn’t want to see, so they saw everything. The lions den, the reptile house, the monkey exhibit, they did it all. And by the time they made it through the African wing of the zoo, Zelda was desperate for just a five minute rest. Near the picnic areas was a lake with dispensers of bread crumbs for the ducks and birds. Zelda gave her daughter some loose change from the bottom of her purse, and Vida was content with throwing crumbs at the ducks while Zelda rested at a picnic table. Mary came back from the vending machine with a bag of chips and two bottles of water. She then sat on one corner of the table with her feet on the bench, while Zelda sat on the other with her back facing the table so she could keep an eye on Vida. They hadn’t said a word to teach other since early that morning, most of the conversation since then was dictated by Vida, which was fine. But now they were by themselves, their buffer was happily running around while the ducks followed her.

“Pretzel?” Zelda raised an eyebrow towards Mary who was looking straight ahead, her left arm outstretched to her. In Mary’s hand was the bag of pretzels.

“No, thank you.” Mary just shrugged and took back the bag. It was then that Zelda noted one of the bottles of water that Mary came back with was closer to her on the table. Zelda looked at the water bottle, almost hesitant to take it, but her throat felt dry and the cool water was exactly what she needed. It went back to being quiet, other than the quacking of ducks and the rustle of leaves. Zelda sat there with the water bottle in her hands, not knowing what to say or if she should say anything at all. “I’m sorry.” It was out before she could stop herself, but once it was out she oddly didn’t regret it. “I’m sorry for the way I acted on Friday. I don’t know why I did that. ”

“To be honest I almost wasn’t going to come. I was confused after Friday, worried I did something wrong, but you said Vida wanted me to come. So here I am.”

Zelda accepted that. She knew when she was in the wrong and it was wrong what she did to Mary. “I’m glad you came.” She turned and gave Mary a quick smile before Vida came back, out of breadcrumbs as the ducks had moved on. With a seemingly satisfied smile, Mary got up from the table to continue their tour of the zoo, and Zelda couldn’t help but follow.

* * *

 

The trio left the zoo at sunset.

There wasn’t much left when they continued on from their break. There was the penguins, the big cats, and the bears. They couldn’t leave until they visited all the bears, as they were Vida’s favorite. There was a grizzly bear exhibit that according to the plaque housed bears recovering from injury before they were released back into the wild. There was a large polar bear habitat with high plexiglass walls including an above ground tunnel that was similar to the underground one with the penguins. The bears were the best part, because Vida always loved them. Oso was her first foreign word, and her second full word right after momma. Vida went around the habitats repeating oso and watching the bears like they were the greatest things in the world.

The last thing they did that day was visit the bird sanctuary. Throughout the day Mary kept telling Vida that they should save that for last. She never said why, and the other habitats only served as minor distractions until they reached the last leg of the zoo. The bird habitats were large cage enclosures with large trees and not much else. Except for the flamingos, their enclosure was all water with large sitting rocks and large bush-like plants. Mary led them further into the sanctuary until they reached an opening that was surrounded by one caged enclosure that housed several big red macaw parrots and another a single raven. The raven started cawing loudly and batting its wings against the cage as they approached. A little intimidated by the raven’s behavior, Vida hid behind Zelda. Zelda placed a reassuring hand on top of her daughters head.

“This is Stolas.” Producing a key from her pocket, Mary unlocked a small door and Stolas perched himself on her offered hand. “I found him when he was a young bird with an injured wing. When I took him to the vet the next day, it was explained that he ‘imprinted’ on me, which meant he couldn’t be released into the wild. They arranged for him to stay here, so I come to see him every once in a while. Do you want to meet him?” While Mary kept her distance, she kneeled down so that Vida could get a closer look, but Vida hid further behind Zelda. There was no use in pushing Vida, so she placed Stolas back in his cage. He didn’t want to go but she threw a quarter and he flew right for it. “Silly thing will only listen for shiny objects like quarters.”

On their way out, Vida whined to be picked up and Zelda recognized how worn out her daughter was. Vida was indeed tired, and fell asleep not long after Zelda picked her up. Mary walked with them all the way to Zelda’s car.

“Is Stolas how you got us in?” Mary hummed, but she had a slight smirk to her lips. Zelda took that as a yes. “I think I owe him a quarter.”

“Please don’t. His keeper says the guests over indulge him. They do a deep cleaning of his enclosure every few months and at one time they found $50 in coins.” Zelda chuckled and after some juggling she managed to get Vida into her car seat.

“I can’t believe the raven got $50 in quarters.”

“They don’t always give him quarters. Sometimes it’s nickels or soda can tabs. I think one time I gave him an eraser holder from a pencil, he bit my hand the next time I saw him.” The parking lights above them went on, catching their attention. For the first time Zelda realized how late it really was. “I should get going.”

“Mary, wait.” Mary had made it three feet before turning back to face Zelda . “I wanted to apologize again, and thank you for getting us in today.”

“You already apologized Zelda and it wasn’t a big deal. Besides, I like spending time with you and Vida.” As soon as Mary said it a blush grew on her face, and she looked away, embarrassed. Zelda wasn’t aware before of how fond Mary was of them.

“How would you feel about getting dinner, later this week?”

“Just the two of us?” Mary looked up at Zelda now, a hopeful gleam in her eye.

“It can be.”

“I’d love to, how does Friday sound?”

“Friday sounds great.”

“Okay then.” Mary closed the distance between them, stepping squarely in front of Zelda who was leaning against the passengers side of her car. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Zelda.” And then Mary did something that Zelda wasn’t expecting, she kissed her. It was a small kiss on the cheek, quick and straight to the point, but it was still a kiss. Mary left quickly, as quick as she had kissed her. She said nothing as she pulled away, a blush growing on her face. Zelda didn’t see Mary’s car, but she heard an engine come to life in the distance. That left Zelda in the orange glow of the street lights, trying to fully comprehend what had happened. It consumed Zelda’s thoughts on the drive home. What did it mean? Mary has admitted she enjoyed spending time with her and Vida, and she had said yes to a date. That had to mean she was interested. It was too much to think about after the exhausting day she had. She was tired when she got home and wasted no time getting herself and her daughter ready for bed. When Zelda looked at her reflection in the mirror from where she was removing her makeup, there was a faint lipstick print on her cheek. She scrubbed it away but it did confirm to her that at least she hadn’t imagined it. It was real, today had happened and Mary had kissed her. But that left questions, ones Zelda knew she would be pondering until Friday. What now, what was next, and how could she possibly be ready for it?


	5. The One With the Date

Zelda Spellman was not prone to panic but she was in fact panicking. She didn’t think about her dinner date with Mary until Thursday when Mary blindsided her with a question. On Monday Mary knocked on her office door asking to join her for lunch. Zelda agreed and Mary has been showing up everyday with her lunch from the school cafeteria.

“So what time should I be ready tomorrow?” Zelda paused mid chew her brain racking on what Mary was talking about until it dawned on her. She promised to have dinner with Mary tomorrow. She swallowed her bite of chicken club, it went down hard and she took a sip of water to help it along.

“Seven.” Her voice sound a little horse but it hid her uncertainty. Mary nodded and smirked. The bell rang ending lunch, Mary left her office leaving behind a trail of perfume.

When Zelda got home she borrowed Ambrose’s laptop to see what was available but the choices were overwhelming. Did she go with Italian or seafood? Something in Greendale or Riverdale? And the atmosphere… it was too much. Her head was swimming with information that she didn’t even know how to use. It’s how Hilda found her slumped over the kitchen table and Ambrose’s laptop open but the screen had gone black.

“Zelds? Is everything okay?”

“No.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“Not likely.” Hilda didn’t respond. Instead she buzzed around the kitchen and in no time a pot of tea and biscuit were between them. Zelda didn’t touch the cup that was placed in front of her. Instead she stared at it, watching the tea swirl around in the cup. “Hilda?” Hilda hummed around her tea cup. It was her second cup and there was a half eaten biscuit on her saucer.

“Yeah?”

“If you were to go on a date how would you like it to go?”

“Well… I don’t know. I guess it wouldn’t really matter what happened if the company is good.” Zelda opened her mouth then shut it. She hadn’t thought of it like that. A plan was forming in her mind but she needed help. Luckily, she knew exactly who to ask.

“Hilda.”

“Yes?”

“I need a favor.” Hilda placed her tea cup down and gave her a soft smile.

* * *

 

At six fifty Friday evening Zelda pulled up to a small brick house that said was the address that Mary gave her that afternoon. Mary’s house sat secluded on a small hill about ten minutes from town. Zelda knocked on the door, balancing a picnic basket and the box that held the bottle of wine she picked up before driving over. Her arm was getting tired when Mary opened the door. Zelda’s mouth went dry. Mary looked stunning in a green cocktail dress that had a deep v which showed off her cleavage and deep slit that showed off her legs.

“Come on in.” Mary let her in with a smirk. After placing her coat in the closet Zelda looked around. Mary’s home was filled with wood furnishings giving it that old school feeling. There was no real lighting, just some bell lamps and the fireplace which burned a glowing orange. Zelda took the basket into the kitchen. Inside was everything she needed to finish the vegetable loaf that she asked Hilda to make. The loaf itself was finished, it just needed to be reheated. Figuring out Mary’s stove was a challenge of its own but Zelda got it on at least, she crossed her fingers and hoped for the best. “I’m getting the impression that we’re staying in.” Zelda looked from the stove where she was boiling the green beans to Mary who was leaning against the doorway.

“I hope that’s okay.” The clicks of Mary’s heels sounded like gunfire as they hit the floor of the kitchen. Zelda held her breath as warmth spread through her back. Mary’s touch felt like fire as her hand started from her shoulder, down her arm, then stop at her hand fingers spread between hers.

“More than okay. It means I don’t have to share.” Even through the material of her dress Zelda felts Mary’s lips on her shoulder. Mary’s nails scratched her back as she pushed her hair away so that Mary’s lips had more access to the back of her neck. Zelda bit her lip, it was all she could do to prevent herself from moaning.

“Stop it.”

“Why?” A shudder went through Zelda when Mary’s hot breath hit her ear.

“If the food burns it’s on you.”

“We wouldn’t want that. I’ll set the table.” Mary left a single kiss behind her ear before leaving, heels clicking all the way. Zelda let out a shudder breath of relief. She didn’t know how much longer she would of lasted. The pot with the green beans started to overflow bringing Zelda’s attention back to the food.

* * *

 

By some miracle Zelda didn’t dry out the vegetable loaf. She set it on a silver platter that she found with the green beans and the beet puree. It didn’t look like much but it was delicious. The loaf was paired with the wine that Zelda brought, Mary took it out of the box and into a bucket with a little bit of ice.

“So, tell me. Who is Zelda Spellman.” Zelda raised an eyebrow. Mary was leaned back in her chair wine glass in her hand.

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, I know Ms. Spellman and I know mom but I don’t know Zelda. I want to know who Zelda is.” Zelda blushed around her fork. She never had someone express this interest in her. She didn’t know what she was comfortable telling Mary.

“I was a midwife.” It was the first thing that came to her mind. Out of all of her thoughts that was the one that made it out. Mary looked interested, she straightened back up and looked at Zelda completely open and ready to listen. “I did something selfish and as punishment I had to do what my mother said. Being a midwife wasn’t something that I wanted but when I stopped fighting it I grew to enjoy it in some ways. But life throws curve balls and you have to make sacrifices. I’ve grown to like teaching.” Zelda took a deep breath. There was a lot she was leaving out, a lot she just wasn’t ready to talk about. Mary seemed to understand. She didn’t promint or push, just smiled softly at her. Zelda didn’t find any judgment in Mary’s brown eyes, just deep pools of warmth. Zelda took a sip of wine from her glass and continued eating.

* * *

 

When the loaf was gone Mary handed Zelda a tumbler of bourbon, it wasn’t much just about two fingers worth, and they sat on the rug near the fire. The flames of the fire casted shadows from the grate that danced on Mary’s bare thigh. Zelda was compelled to touch, she followed the swirls and lines of the shadows, fingertips gliding over smooth soft skin. Mary hummed and scooted herself even closer so that their knees were touching. Mary’s hand made its way into her hair, nails scraping her scalp. Mary started to kiss her again, going along her jaw until she reached her lips. There was only a split moment of hesitation, Mary’s breath felt hot on her lips, before Mary’s lips met hers. It was soft, both the kiss and Mary’s lips, but it quickly grew heavier, more lips, tongue and some teeth. The feeling of the kiss became consuming, Zelda’s need to be closer, and the only place where Zelda could go was Mary’s lap. She spread her legs just enough to get her over Mary’s knees. Mary responded by leaning back but Zelda pushed to much. They fell with Zelda landing heavily on Mary and Mary bitting Zelda’s lip. Zelda pulled back, hand pressed to her swollen bottom lip.

“Sorry.” Mary just smirked. It irked Zelda that Mary looked composed with her face flushed and lipstick smeared.

“There is nothing to apologize for.” Zelda pulled away so that Mary could come back up. Mary crossed her legs a different way, test rolling her left ankle. The cuckoo clock on the wall went off eleven times.

“I should go.” Zelda used the end table behind her to steady her shaky legs.

“You don’t have to.” Zelda opened her mouth to protest but Mary cut her off. “You shouldn’t drive in your condition.” Zelda wanted to dispute that but couldn’t. The roads had no lights and the bourbon nightcap was hitting her hard.

“Fine. Where do I sleep?” Mary smirked and held out her hand. Zelda rolled her eyes but took the offered hand to venture further into the house.

* * *

 

“So, the bathroom is just down the hall and give me five minutes and I’ll give you something to sleep in.” Zelda just nodded as Mary disappeared through a door, the scrape of hangers told her that it was the closet. Mary returned with a pair of pajamas that she held out to Zelda. “You can take the bathroom first.” Zelda could only nod and mumble a thank you. In the bathroom she changed into the pajamas, the cotton shirt and deep blue silk pants fit enough, the pants felt a little tight. After removing her make up Zelda went back to Mary’s bedroom. Mary had changed from her green dress to a black silk robe that still showed off her cleavage and legs. Mary’s legs were crossed as Mary rubbed in lotion to her leg. It was too much for Zelda. The robe, Mary, sharing Mary’s bed with her. It was too much. Mary looked up then, her blue eyes were soft and she wasn’t sporting her usual smirk. She got up from the bed, her footsteps were silent this time as she stood in front of Zelda. She placed one hand on Zelda’s hip and the other cupped her cheek, thumb caressing her cheek. “Nothing is going to happen unless you want it to.” Zelda hummed and step further in, her arms wrapping around Mary’s waist.

“I just want to go to sleep.”

“As long as I get the privilege to hold you.” Zelda rolled her eyes but nodded. Zelda took the right side while Mary took the left. When the light went out Zelda moved to her side facing the window. A few minutes later she heard Mary move behind her. A warmth spread through her back and Mary’s arm felt solid at her hip. Before she knew it Zelda was in a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

The next time Zelda woke the sun was out. It was still a pale yellow which meant it was still early. Mary was still asleep snoring lightly behind her. As carefully as she could Zelda slipped out of the bed, Mary mumbled but turned to lay fully on her stomach still asleep under her mane of brown hair. By the time the clock sounded six Zelda was dressed in her dress from the night before, the pajamas that Mary loaned her she folded and placed on the dresser. Her home was a welcome sight and it was quite other than the click of her heels.

“Zelds?” Zelda looked over the railing. Hilda was up and in her apron, the smell of bacon and coffee came from the kitchen. “You just getting in?”

“It’s not what you’re thinking Hilda.” Zelda didn’t mean to snap at Hilda, she just didn’t want to have this conversation with her sister of all people.

“Wasn’t thinking it. Though you’re glowing.” Hilda smiled and went back to the kitchen humming some love song. Zelda just scoffed and went upstairs. After checking on her daughter who was sound asleep Zelda went into the bathroom turning on the shower. As the room filled with was steam Zelda caught her reflection in the mirror and damn it her sister was right. She looked practically smitten.


	6. The One With Apples and Teeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So, I've been muling over this a while. I was originally using 'Madamspellman Teacher AU' as a temporary title until I thought of an official one but titles are not my strong suit. So, I'm going to let you guys have a say, if you have a story title let me know or if you want the title to stay as it is. Thanks and enjoy!

On the first of the month Principle Hawthorne called a staff meeting immediately after school. The meetings mostly consisted on what was coming up like club fair next Friday and Halloween festivities. Faculty advisors needed to fill out a form to register the clubs attendance and spot in the fair to Mrs. Meeks by Friday. Hawthorne also talked about the football teams status in the division but Zelda tuned him out. She focused on her notes for her Chinese class, she was giving them a test Friday and wanted to finalize her answer key but Mary wasn’t helping. There weren’t any open seats when Zelda joined the meeting. She was doing some last minute marking and wanted to finish before heading for the meeting. There was an open spot near the window, right next to Mary. Mary smirked and gave her a small wink. Zelda just smiled in return. When Hawthorne started talking about the football team Zelda felt something press against her back. It was Mary’s hand, her palm rested just above her hip. Then her fingers started taping up her back. Zelda tensed not because she disliked it but because they were in a room full of their fellow coworkers and their boss. Mr. Hawthorne paused and looked at them for a split second but continued on. When the meeting was concluded Mary whispered a ‘see you later’ into Zelda’s ear, it sent a delicious shiver down her spine.

“Ms. Spellman a word?” Zelda groaned at the loss of her good feeling bubble as annoyance filled her. Hawthorne wanted her. He stood at the front of the room rocking on his heels like he was a grade school child.

“Yes, Mr. Hawthorne?”

“I was curious of your plans for this weekend.”

“I’m apple picking and pumpkin carving with my family.”

“Oh… so concrete plans.” Zelda just hummed. Hawthorne had bowed his head in what appeared to be dejection but he wasn’t anywhere near as clever as he thought he was. He looked at her with heavy hooded eyes that gleamed in hope that she would change her mind. It might work for teenagers but Zelda wasn’t a fool.

“Very, it’s a Spellman tradition. Now if that’s all I must be on my way.” Zelda turned on her heel and left, she was eager to go home.

“That was nicely done.” Zelda smiled when she saw Mary. She was leaning against the wall like it was a casual thing for a teacher to do. Zelda mocked curtsy. Having brought her coat and bag with her to the meeting Zelda made her way to her car. Mary followed, standing close enough that their hands brushed together. This was another new thing with Mary, she would walk with Zelda all the way to her car. Zelda made it a goal to leave work around 4:30 at the latest, she wanted to pick her daughter up at a decent time, and Mary will always be waiting in the doorway of her office or her classroom. And surprisingly enough Zelda didn’t find it as annoying as she thought she would.

“Mary?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing this Saturday?” Mary snorted and Zelda spun on her heel so fast that Mary crashed into her. “What’s so funny?”

“Sorry it’s just that… oh god, it wouldn’t be this funny if I hadn’t just overheard this exact conversation.” Zelda huffed as Mary went into full blown laughter. She opened the drivers side door more forcefully than needed to and threw her case into the car but didn’t get in herself.

“Fine, continue on laughing. I won’t invite you to join us this Saturday.” After another two minutes Mary finally stopped laughing. She took a few deep calming breaths before that signature smirk came back.

“I would love to join you Saturday.” Zelda, still a little huffed, finally calmed down. A gentle smile graced her face.

“Okay then.” Mary leaned over the car door that was between them and quickly gave Zelda a peck on the lips. Zelda then got into the car with an even bigger smile as she drove off to pick up her daughter.

* * *

 

Friday nights were lively in the Spellman household. Hilda had every other Friday night off, she was in the kitchen buzzing around making something. Sabrina after surviving another week of school and homework for the week finished was playing a game with Ambrose. Vida would buzz between helping Hilda and seeing what her cousins were up to but most of the time she was with Zelda. Friday nights was when Zelda did chores around the house. She’d change the sheets or did some dusting. Tonight was laundry, Vida folded small things like pillow cases and sorted while Zelda maned the machines and iron. While they were down in the basement Zelda could still hear everything that was happening upstairs, the clattering of pots, music from the stereo, the occasional argument between Sabrina and Ambrose. It was the perfect way to unwind after a long week. With all of her family in the house Zelda didn’t think twice nor did she stop ironing out the wrinkles from one of Sabrina’s dresses when she heard footsteps on the stairs until her daughter running across the room caught her eye.

“Mary!” Vida waited patiently for Mary to reach the bottom of the stairs so she could hug the other woman. Mary went one step further, she scooped up Vida, hugging her tightly and blowing raspberries on her cheek and neck causing Vida to giggle. Zelda watched with a soft smile. The scene didn’t cause a sting of jealousy but instead a fuzzy feeling that filled her with warmth.

“You’re early. A whole day early.”

“Hilda invited me for dinner.” Zelda hummed and tried to push the shock off her face. She didn’t know that Hilda had invited Mary and she didn’t know how she felt about her sister interfering in her personal life. But on the other hand her daughter looked so happy chatting to Mary about her week at school.

“Fine. You can help fold.” Mary opened her mouth to say something but Vida started squirming. When she was placed on the ground she led Mary to her pile of towels that she was working on. Mary threw Zelda a dirty look but sat on the floor to help Vida. Zelda just smirked and continued ironing.

* * *

 

Zelda’s alarm went off at seven the next morning. Most Saturdays she slept in till around nine but they needed to get an early start to the orchard. She sat up and Mary’s arm fell into her lap. For a split second she forgot that Mary spent the night but she smiled softly when she saw Mary’s disheveled head poking out of the duvet cover. Zelda placed a kiss on what she thinks was Mary cheek then got up to get ready for the day. When she came back out of the bathroom dressed in a maroon sweater and black slacks Vida had made her way onto her bed.

“Mommy I’m an oso!” Zelda couldn’t help but smile. Mary had a tight hold on her daughter, clutching her like she was a real teddy bear.

“I see that. Come here my bebe oso.” Vida held her arms out so Zelda could lift her but Mary’s grip on Vida’s waist tightened keeping her in place.

“Can’t take her.” Mary’s voice was muffled into the pillow but Zelda made it out and it caused her to smile. Vida found it amusing and her giggling filled the room.

“Fine then. You two can stay here while I go apple picking.” Vida’s eyes went wide and she started to squirm out of Mary’s hold.

“Mary! Up!” Now free from Mary’s grip Zelda lift her daughter from the bed, placing her on her hip. “Hi Mommy.”

“Hi baby. Why don’t you start getting dress so that we can head down to breakfast. Make sure you get a sweater it’s going to be chilly today.”

“Okay.” Zelda placed a kiss on her daughter’s cheek before setting her down. She turned her attention to Mary who was still on the bed but awake. Mary was looking at her propped on her elbows, Zelda just raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“You know it’s customary to greet your lover with a morning kiss.”

“I’ll kiss you when you’re dressed for the day.” Mary looked at her with mocked shock.

“You’re a cruel woman Zelda Spellman.” Zelda just smirked because she ultimately got what she wanted. Mary was moving, she got out of the bed with a little stretch and ran her fingers thru her sleep tousled hair. “If you won’t kiss me then I’ll just have to take what I want.” Zelda squeaked under her breath as Mary pulled her close by her waist and kissed her soundly on the lips. Zelda didn’t fight it, she kissed Mary back and draped one of her arms around Mary’s shoulders. It only lasted a moment before a thump and a cry pulled Zelda’s attention to her daughter.

“Mommy I’m stuck!” Zelda looked a Mary who smiled back at her and headed into Zelda’s walk in closet where her overnight bag was placed. Zelda looked at her daughter, Vida was sitting on her bed trapped in her sweater. Zelda just smiled and went to help her daughter. By the time Zelda freed Vida of her sweater and found a matching sock to place on her daughter’s left foot Mary was dressed and her hair and make up was done. They left hand in hand with Vida between them to join the others downstairs.

* * *

 

They arrived at the orchard just before nine thirty. Harvey, Sabrina, and Ambrose arrived in Harvey’s truck, they were already out of the vehicle and waiting when Zelda pulled her car into the free space that was next to them. In Zelda’s car was Mary, Vida, Hilda, and Dr. Cerberus. It didn’t place Zelda in the greatest of moods having to witness what could only be described as a make out session between her niece and her boyfriend and then having to endure Hilda chattering the whole way. Not even five minutes there Sabrina wanted to run off with Harvey to the corn maze. Zelda didn’t want her to, the purpose of being here was to pick apples, but Hilda let them. They ran off hand in hand. Then Ambrose decided he was going as well, he smuggled his bat mask with him and he wanted to see if he could scare the two teens. Zelda told him not to, he was kicked out of the orchard a few years ago for that very reason, but he ran off with that intended purpose. That left her, Mary, Hilda, Dr. Cerberus, and Vida.

After discussing if they needed one basket or two they entered the part of the orchard that was designated for picking. Hilda took one basket and she and Dr. Cerberus headed in the direction where there was more granny smith trees. Zelda took the other and she along with Mary and Vida headed towards where the red apples like fuji and red delicious trees grew. Zelda set the basket down next to a red delicious tree that didn’t have that much foot traffic and waited until Vida brought apples to her. One of the things that made apple picking enjoyable for Zelda was watching her daughter analyze apples that barely fit in her hands. Only apples that Vida found acceptable were brought back to Zelda. Vida was picky, just like her mother, and Zelda was okay with that. Zelda remembered going apple picking when Sabrina was her daughters age. Her niece picked up everything and Zelda took on the role of quality expectation because the last thing they wanted was rotten apples or rocks. But Vida took her time, looking and weighting to what her standards were and thanks to Hilda Vida was a great produce picker. Since they had an extra set of hands Mary would come back with arm fulls of apples. It meant that the basket filled up twice as fast as before and Vida didn’t have to run herself back and forth. When the basket was over flowing they started back. Zelda couldn’t lift the basket herself so she took one side and Mary took the other. Vida walked ahead of them with an apple in her hand that she declared was ‘hers’.

While all the apples that were in the basket came from either the ground or branches that were low enough that Vida could just stand on her toes to get the one that Vida held was different. At one point Vida pointed at a fuji tree and asked Mary to lift her so she could get a particular apple that was on a higher branch. Mary didn’t bat an eye, she set down the apples that they already collected so she could pick up Vida. With a hand on either side of the child’s small waist Mary lifted Vida high in the air. Vida stretched the remainder of the way until the apple that she wanted was safely in her hands. Mary high fived her for a job well done and Vida stashed the apple in her jacket for safe keeping.

They met up with Hilda and Dr. Cerberus, their basket was filled with granny smith apples and some golden delicious. They ‘ohhed’ when Vida showed off her apple. Zelda was surprised to see Dr. Cerberus have actual interest and enthusiasm in hearing Vida talk about her apple. She still wasn’t completely sold on him but she could admit that he was a good guy. While he started to run the baskets back to Harvey’s truck an employee came and Zelda knew what was wrong just by the look on his face. She looked at Hilda who gave her her own ‘I’m not surprised’ look.

“We’ll be right back. Are you okay watching her?” Mary nodded and Zelda gave her a kiss on her cheek. Zelda and Hilda left following the employee in the direction of the corn maze.

“Mary can I eat my apple now?”

“I don’t see why not. Let me wash it real quick then it’s all yours.” Vida nodded and handed her apple to Mary. There was a metal basin where people could wash their hands at the hub of the orchard where other produce and honey and jams were also sold. Mary placed the apple under the water for a second, rubbing the pad of her thumb over the surface before handing it back to Vida with a flick of her wrist to get rid of the excess water.

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome sweetie.” Mary smiled as Vida started chomping at her apple, leaning slightly on Mary’s legs.

“Fancy seeing you here Ms. Wardwell.” Mary didn’t make an attempt the hide her displeasure. She groaned and rolled her eyes as Mr. Hawthorne approached her. “Enjoying the nice weather and apple picking Ms. Wardwell?”

“I was.” Mr. Hawthorn just nodded and smiled, completely oblivious to her indifference.

“Good. Is that Ms. Spellmans daughter?” Mary didn’t say anything. She just glared and placed a protective hand on Vida’s head. Vida didn’t like Hawthorne either, she hid behind Mary and was eating her apple slower than she was before. “Lisa right?” Disgust filled Mary and she tried to rack her brain for a response that would go over his head but wouldn’t get her fired like kicking him in the balls would. As satisfying as that would be Hawthorne wasn’t worth her job. Before she could think of something Vida cried out behind her. Mary turned to see what was wrong but all she saw was Vida crying as she looked at her apple.

“Sweetie what’s wrong?” Vida mumbled something but Mary couldn’t make out over the crying. Mary got down to Vida’s level and Vida latched on to her, wrapping her small arms around her neck and crying into her shoulder. Mary just ‘shh’d’ and rubbed small soothing circles into Vida’s back. Eventually Vida calmed down to where she was only crying softly. “Do you think you can now tell me what’s wrong?” Vida sniffled and hiccuped but nodded.

“The apple took my teeth.”

“I don’t understand.” Vida held out her apple which Mary took. Mary turned the apple around in her hands until she saw it. Two little white teeth stuck in the flesh of the apple. “Oh honey you just lost some baby teeth.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we are all born with two sets of teeth. When you get to be around your age you start to lose your baby teeth and get your permanent teeth.”

“So I’m okay?”

“You’re perfect.” Vida smiled and wiped away the remainder of her tears with her sleeves. “And do you know what the best part about losing your baby teeth is?”

“What?”

“You get a visit from the tooth fairy. You leave your teeth under your pillow at night and when you wake up they would be turned into quarters.”

“Really!?” Mary hummed and picked up Vida. Vida smile softly as she rested her head on Mary’s shoulder.

“Isn’t that overstepping your place Ms. Wardwell?” Mary turned to glare at Mr. Hawthorne. She had forgotten he was there. Mary didn’t like the fact that he looked self entitled in telling her right. Very deep down Mary knew he was right, she shouldn’t have told Vida about the tooth fairy but there was nothing wrong about comforting her. But ultimately she wasn’t going to take advice from a guy who couldn’t even remember Vida’s name.

“Not from where I’m standing.” Mr. Hawthorne paled to a ghostly white and turned slowly around to face Zelda.

“M-Ms. Spellman.”

“Mommy! I lost teeth!” Vida smiled and there were fresh gaps thanks to the lost of her lower front teeth.

“I see that baby.” Zelda took her daughter from Mary. Vida smiled and settled her head on her mother’s chest. “Was there something that you needed Mr. Hawthorne?” Mr. Hawthorne stuttered but shook his head. “Good. Shall we?” Zelda smiled at Mary and held out her hand. Mary smirked and took the offered hand, lacing her fingers between Zelda’s. They walked away without another word or a second glance.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Zelda looked at Mary dead on.

“I know perfectly well what I am doing.”

“Good.” Mary stopped and stood squarely in front of Zelda. In the distance just over Zelda’s shoulder she could see Mr. Hawthorne looking at them. “Because there’s no turning back.” Mary kissed Zelda lightly on the cheek but it was enough to cause Hawthorne to huff away. A ping of triumph shot through Mary, it made having to deal with him a little better.

“I don’t want to.” Mary nodded and they continued their walk to the car to join the others.

 


	7. The One With the Halloween Mash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as you guys know I was fixing to change the title of the story and I was given a suggestion that I really liked. Maggells on tumblr suggested 'A Seed Hidden in the Heart.' However I wasn't going to just spring the title change on you guys without warning so by next chapter the title will change. Thanks to anyone who offered a title and to all my readers for the overall support. Enjoy!

October was a huge month for Baxter High.

Friday the 11th was club fair. All day long students were abuzz with excitement. Sixth period lessons were cancelled and the remaining periods were shorten by five minutes, not that they paid attention much to Zelda’s annoyance. Her students wouldn’t settle down, whispering and every clock tick made them twitch. By fifth period Zelda was at her wits end and her French 1 class was no better. The bell dismissing them to the fair was a relief, Zelda led her class in an orderly fashion to the school's gymnasium. Her students knew her well enough that if they stepped even a toe out of line they would be sent to the library for the remainder of the day.

The fair was something. While it was mostly targeted to the freshman students each club still made an effort to make themselves known. The bakery club filled the gymnasium with the smell of baked goods that mixed with the popcorn from the movie club. The performing arts corner of the fair jumbled together in a show of costumes, music, and dance. And students ranged between being in awe over everything and running amuck not even caring, using the time to goof off with their friends. Zelda herself just wondered, taking note of what was going on but not really retaining anything. As sad as it might sound she was eager for the day to be over so she could go back to her classroom to prepare for the following week. Students weren’t the only ones anxious for the weekend and Zelda was eager to spend the weekend with her daughter.

“Ms. Spellman.”

“Mr. Hawthorne.” The principle nodded and fixed her with his supposed to be charming but was actually creepy smile. It made her skin crawl but she gave him her best political smile. Hoping with everything that she had that pleasantries were enough, that Hawthorne would leave her be, but no. Hawthorne started following her around mumbling about something she didn’t even care about. All the way in the back Zelda spotted Sabrina with her friends and Mary. Zelda made a beeline to them but Hawthorne grabbed her by her arm two steps in. His touch burned and Zelda turned on her heels so fast that they made an ugly sound on the floor. “Is there a problem Mr. Hawthorne?”

“I’d be careful if I were you Ms. Spellman. Might be more trouble than it’s worth.” Zelda opened her mouth to protest but Hawthorne released her arm and walked away before she could say anything. Zelda stood there confused, she didn’t understand why Hawthorne acted the way he did but decided to ignore it. Hawthorne did a lot of things that she didn’t understand and she wasn’t going to waist her energy to figure the reasoning behind his actions. However, she was curious what her niece and Mary were up to. It had to be something big to get Hawthorne to act the way he did.

And boy was it big. While they were all the way in the back of the gym Sabrina and her friends were making themselves known in a way that rivaled the performing arts corner. Rosalind was using her powerful voice to let her fellow students know who they were. Sabrina was next to her holding up a sign that said W.I.C.C.A. Susie and Mary stood near the folded bleaches handing out flyers. Well, Susie was, Mary just stood there leaning against the bleachers with a smirk on her face and a gleam in her eye that said she was proud.

“What’s all this?” Sabrina and Rosalind started talking all at once. She held up her hand and they both fell silent. “One at a time so I can understand you.”

“It’s our club Aunt Zee. The Women’s Intersectional Cultural and Creative Association. Or W.I.C.C.A.”

“Sabrina found a loophole online that if a club is registered in the club fair it automatically becomes an official club.”

“We knew we weren’t going to get permission for the club from Hawthorne. I filled out the application and Ms. Wardwell did the rest.”

“Nonsense.” Mary pushed off of the bleaches so she was standing at her full height. “I just snuck you into the fair. Everything else is all you girls.” Mary winked and that proud gleam in her eye became even prouder.

“So that’s why Hawthorne practically accosted me.” Zelda said it in a whisper, not attending anyone to hear her, but Mary did. Mary’s eyes went dark and she stepped squarely in front of Zelda.

“What did he do?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Mary opened her mouth but Zelda placed a hand on Mary’s shoulder. “I’m fine. What’s done is done.” Mary nodded but the dark look in her eyes remained meaning she wasn’t convinced. Zelda just rolled her eyes, she hasn’t known Mary long but she knew how grossly over protective Mary was. Zelda gave her a small smile and a quick kiss on the cheek. It brought some light back into Mary’s brown eyes and, to Zelda’s satisfaction, a blush to her cheeks. Someone clearing their throat pulled them apart. Hawthorne stood there, his face red and his hands in his crumpled suit pants pocket.

“Thank you Ms. Spellman for volunteering to be a chaperone for the school dance.” Zelda couldn’t hide the look of shock from her face nor could she rebuff even as Hawthorne walked away. Zelda turned her shock expression to Mary and Sabrina who both looked back at her in disbelief.

“What the hell!” They all turned to Rosalind, not because they were shocked at what she said but because it couldn’t be summed up any better.

* * *

 

To say that Zelda was livid would be an understatement.

The school dance was Baxter Highs belated homecoming. Hawthorne kept on postponing the event for one reason or another until he came up with his ‘stroke of genius’. He scheduled the dance for Halloween. Had it be Halloween themed to curve the antics of the teens that still wanted to celebrate the holiday. He kept on bragging about his call with the sheriff about the idea at every given opportunity and it made Zelda boil with rage. As one of the few faculty ‘chaperone’s she was to overlook the preparations for the dance like the decorations and ticket sells that now took up her lunch hour. The preparations kept her at the school till five meaning she wasn’t picking her daughter up till almost five thirty. Livid was the perfect way to describe Zelda’s mood. To top it off now she had to get a costume to wear. Hawthorne was making every faculty staff involved with the dance wear a costume. Which is why she was with her daughter and Mary at a costume store the Saturday before the event.

“You’ve got to love Halloween.” Zelda hummed and looked at Mary who tossed a ‘sexy firefighter’ costume back into a bin.

“You know I need more help than your sarcastic comments.”

“Well, it would help to know what you were looking for.” Zelda groaned and started to knead a kink out of left side of her neck.

“God I hate this.” Mary smiled softly and moved behind Zelda. She placed her hands on Zelda’s shoulders, slipping her hand underneath Zelda’s. Zelda gave off a cross between a moan and a sigh as Mary started to massage her shoulders. Slightly more relaxed Zelda leaned into Mary. Mary moved her hands down Zelda’s arms to than settle on her hips.

“So, I’m guessing it’s a no on the sexy devil?”

“In the off chance that you’re serious the answer is no.” Mary’s chuckle was light, it tickled the hairs on the back of Zelda’s neck. Mary’s mood was contagious, Zelda found herself smiling for the first time in two days.

“Mary, Mommy, I need help.” Zelda sighed and looked at Mary who just smirked.

“What’s wrong Vida?” Vida was standing in front of a wall where rows and rows of costumes and accessories like wigs that accompanied them were displayed.

“I can’t reach it.”

“Reach what?” Vida pointed to the higher rows. Vida’s reach only extended to the third row and the costume that she was looking at was higher. Seventh row and fourth in higher that took a lot of pointing and trial and error until they found it. “Wednesday Addams?” Mary ‘huh’d’ and looked over the costume.

“I thought you wanted to be a bear?’ Vida was always a bear ever since she was one and Hilda bought her a costume for Sabrina’s last trick or treating. She didn’t want to be anything else and the pout that she fixed her mother confirmed that.

“I’m too big for the bear costumes.” Zelda gave her daughter a soft smile. She picked her daughter up, Vida rested her head on her mother’s shoulder and sighed.

“Zelda has anyone told you that your daughter’s a genius?” Zelda and Vida both fixed Mary with a questioning look. Mary just smirked and Zelda could see the gleam of a plan in her brown eyes.

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this.” On the other side of the bathroom door Zelda heard Mary chuckle.

“Come on Zelda. I’m sure it looks fine.” Zelda sighed and after giving herself one last breath of encouragement, exited the bathroom. “Oh, ‘Tish.” Zelda scoffed, she was annoyed that Mary started to laugh.

“You are absolutely impossible!” Mary’s laughter died down. She took a minute to collect herself, regaining her breathing and wiping away a few tears that leaked from her eyes.

“But Zelda.” Mary stepped closer, wrapping one arm around Zelda’s waist while the other came up, her hand brushing away a lock of raven tresses off Zelda’s shoulder. “You pull it off so well.” Zelda scoffed. Mary was snorting again so Zelda pushed her away, not hard, just enough to leave her arms and to step in front of the mirror that was in the corner of her bedroom. Looking at herself in the full length mirror she realized that Mary wasn’t laughing at her because it took terrible. On the contrary, it looked really good. The dress, while not the most comfortable, had a good shape, it fell nicely over her hips and the cleavage wasn’t too daring. The make up, though a little more dramatic to what she’s used to, brought out her eyes and cheekbones. It was the wig, she didn’t pull off the black hair, it made her look too pale, combine that with the make up she looked like a walking sleep deprived zombie. Zelda took the wig off and now with her own wavy red tresses against the deep black of the dress she found herself actually liking the look. “A red head Morticia Addams. That’s a head turner.” Zelda looked over her shoulder at Mary who was now sitting on the corner of her bed.

“I thought you were already doing that Mrs. Gomez Addams?” Mary just shrugged like it was nothing. Mary was dressed in a black suit with thin white pin stripes with a white button down and a black tie. Hilda had to alter the costume so it wouldn’t look so bulky. The pants now flowed from her hips and were cut closer to her legs and the jacket was reworked so it was fitted just below her bust. Mary completed the look with her hair in a tight twist to make it appear shorter and of course her signature red lipstick.

“Correction. We.” Mary got up from the bed and kissed Zelda softly on the lips. Zelda smiled and deepened the kiss. She followed Mary’s lead and their tongues touched for the briefest of seconds but the door opened bursting their private bubble.

“Sorry!” Zelda pulled away in time to see her niece scrambling to retreat from the room. Sabrina slammed into the edge of the doorway before closing the door behind her. Zelda just sighed and looked at Mary. Mary wasn’t surprised and with a nod of her head they left with Zelda on Mary’s elbow.

* * *

 

At this moment Zelda would not be above selling her soul if it meant she wouldn’t be anywhere but where she was.

As requested by Mr. Hawthorne Zelda arrived at the school a whole hour before the dance was scheduled to take place. Mary dropped her off because Hilda had the car. Zelda sat in the car with Mary softly smiling and her daughter in the back seat. Zelda was stalling, she knew that, Mary knew that, but she couldn’t be blamed. Zelda was missing out on so much because of the stupid dance. She was missing her niece’s sixteen birthday even though Sabrina said she was fine because she was having a big party with her friends. But most importantly she was missing trick or treating with her daughter. Vida was still going, Mary offered to take her and watch her for the night which was more than Zelda could ask for. So Zelda took it with a grain of salt even if it ripped her heart in two. When there was no more time for her to waste she kissed Mary’s cheek then got out of the car. She went around to the passengers side to hug and kiss her daughter, who looked adorable in her Wednesday Addams costume and her hair braided in small pig tails, goodbye. Zelda watched as they drove away, a tear threatened to escape but she pushed it back. She will not show weakness. She held her head high and entered the school.

The dance itself wasn’t completely bad though Zelda would have liked to spend Halloween not breaking up handsy teens and listening to the same five songs over and over again. What made the night intolerable was Hawthorne. The hypocrite didn’t even wear a costume, and the dagger head band and the little bit of fake blood he added to his usual suit didn’t count. He wouldn’t leave her alone. Always finding some excuse to be near her or to talk to her. Zelda endured it at first but after being asked for the fifth time if she wanted a drink she looked him dead in the eye and told him, “Mr. Hawthorne I am here to be a ‘chaperone’. I’m not here for a good time. If I wanted to enjoy myself I would be trick or treating with my daughter. So let me do what you asked me to do until it’s time to leave in peace.” Mr. Hawthorne looked taken back but let her go.

And he left her be, for a while. At around ten forty the dance was winding down to its last leg. About half the kids that showed up had left and the DJs music had been replaced by a regular stereo playing a local station that was still broadcasting. Zelda took a seat at a vacant table, she was itching for the dance to be over, she wasn’t allowed to leave till eleven. Someone clearing their throat took Zelda’s attention away from counting the yellow stripes on the candy corn printed table cloth. It was Mr. Hawthorne. Zelda groaned, she was too tired to deal with him.

“Would you care to dance Ms. Spellman?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? I’ve been told I’m a marvelous dancer.” Zelda scoffed, she seriously doubt that someone found Hawthorne to be an adequate dance partner.

“I’m quite sure. I’m tired and would like the dance to be over with so I can go home to my child.” Mr. Hawthorne paused. He looked a little taken back by her tone but Zelda was far from caring.

“Just one dance? It would be over before you know it.” Zelda dried chuckled and got up from the table. For a moment Mr. Hawthorne’s eyes gleamed in hope. It shattered when she turned on her heel to leave. Zelda heard Hawthorne behind her, he was calling her name and his breathing came in short pants. “Ms. Spellman I-” Zelda turned around to face him. Mr. Hawthorne took a step back, he stumbled into the gym door at the cold look in her eyes.

“You know what Mr. Hawthorne? I am quite done with you and your childish games. I don’t know what you want from me but I will not let you to continue on interfering with my life. These are the facts, I am the only one who will dictate how I will spend my time and whom I will spend it with, rather you like it or not. Now, I will not file a complaint about anything that has happened so far if you let me walk out this door. Are we clear?” Mr. Hawthorne had turned ghastly pale and the look on his face, it looked like he was trying not to vomit. Zelda didn’t wait for his response, she just turned on her heel and walked out without a second glance.

* * *

 

Zelda called the only person she knew that would pick her up and take her to where she needed to be without question. Dr. Cerberus met her at the top of the street where she stood under a street light. She got into his car and ignored the extra vampire makeup he had on. The only thing she wanted him to do was drive and that’s exactly what he did. He dropped her off with a small wave but she didn’t hear him pull away until Mary let her in.

Mary was surprised to see her. Zelda wasn’t expected till morning to pick up Vida but Mary smiled at her softly and kissed her gently on the lips. Zelda responded by cupping Mary’s face in her hands and deepening the kiss. Mary gasped to gain some breathing, it opened her mouth which allowed Zelda to push her tongue between Mary’s plump lips. Mary didn’t remain passive for long. She pulled in Zelda by the hips, bringing them close together. Through the thin material of her dress Zelda felt the warm silk of Mary’s robe clad body. Spots formed in Zelda’s vision and her lungs burned in protest from lack of oxygen. She pulled away with great reluctance. While they were both breathing heavily Mary smirked at her, lips swollen and a red color that was different than her usual lipstick.

“Not that I’m complaining but uh…” Mary’s eyes moved up to gesture to the ceiling.

“I know. I just…” Zelda sighed and rested her head on Mary’s shoulder. The silk of Mary’s robe felt cool against her forehead. Zelda felt Mary sigh and brought a hand to her head, her long fingers tangled lightly into her hair.

“It’s late.” Zelda hummed in agreement. Mary offered a hand to her which Zelda took, intertwining their fingers together. Upstairs Mary offered her the same pajamas that were offered to her the first night she stayed over. They smelt clean but still had a trace of Mary’s signature perfume. Mary was already in bed but she didn’t lie down until Zelda took the other side. Zelda gave Mary one last kiss, soft and light on the lips, then she gave a kiss to her daughter who was curled between them. Zelda turned so that she was facing Mary, she looked peaceful, calm. At that very moment Zelda knew she didn’t want to be anywhere else other than where she was, with Mary and her daughter. She fell asleep listening to their combined breathing.


	8. The One With the Spellman Plague

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said last chapter I was changing the title but don't worry it is still going to be the same fic. Also, don't know if this is what we need after the Sabrina bomb being dropped but here it is. Enjoy!

Winter came with a hard vengeance. By November third the trees were bare and the temperature never made it past 40. Cold wind that went straight down your spine was the new norm and the citizens of Greendale broke out their winter coats. Left and right people were suffering from something, rather it be a simple case of the sniffles or the flu and as much as Zelda wished it was the case the Spellmans were not immune to those winter ailments.

It started with Ambrose. It wasn’t unusual for Ambrose to be absent for long periods of time but someone would at the very least see or hear from him. After two days without as so much as a word from Ambrose, Sabrina volunteered to check to see if there were any clues to where he was in his room. Sabrina didn’t find any clues, she found Ambrose sick in his bed with what she said was the flu. They supplied him with some meds, a pot of homemade soup, and some Hilda bedside manner and he bounced back by the end of the week. And no one gave it a second thought, until the following Monday.

It started as any typical weekday. Zelda was the first one up, then Hilda, Ambrose, and Sabrina. Zelda kissed her daughter goodbye then she and Sabrina left for Baxter High. Zelda didn’t see Mary that morning, she had some last minute preparations for the test she was giving her second period Russian and spent the remainder of the morning before the first bell in the common staff room making copies. Any other morning Zelda would be in her office, Mary would already be there leaning on the wall next to the door. They’d shared a quick kiss before Zelda let them in. Sometimes they talked but most of the time they just sat there in silence grading their students work. She saw Mary at the end of second period as her Russian students left with a groan. And while Zelda was happy to see Mary, she even smiled a little, it didn’t last because of the look on Mary’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I took Sabrina home. She asked to go to the bathroom but when she didn’t come back I went to check on her. She was vomiting and when I felt her forehead it was hot.” Zelda sighed and checked her watch. It was almost nine, there’s a good chance that Hilda was still home.

“Mary, thank you. Ambrose was sick, she must have caught what he had.”

“That’s understandable. People get sick. I just wanted you to know about Sabrina.”

“I appreciate that. I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Count on it.” Mary smirked at her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. It brought the smile back until the bell rang for third period.

Later that day she texted Hilda. Sabrina had made it home just in time for Hilda to give her some medicine and tuck her back into bed. She was still there when Zelda came home, asleep around a pillow and her face flushed. Zelda woke her to give her some more medicine and some soup. Sabrina groaned in protest but she took what Zelda gave her with a pout. At that moment it didn’t matter that Sabrina was sixteen, she still whined and pouted the same way when she was three. It filled Zelda with a melancholy feeling. Sabrina was growing right before her eyes. Soon she’ll be a woman and Vida won’t be that far behind her. And while there was a feeling of sadness Zelda smiled and gently laid Sabrina back down when she noticed that her niece couldn’t keep her eyes opened anymore. Zelda placed a kiss on Sabrina’s still warm temple and turned out the light. By the end of the week Sabrina was back to normal.

* * *

 

 The next incident didn’t happen until the following Thursday. Zelda was in the middle of her fifth period French 1 lesson. She was writing down something on the chalkboard when collectively her class ‘awed’. Zelda turned to the door and her jaw dropped. Mary stood in the doorway with her daughter clinging to her. In rapid French Zelda told her class to complete an exercise in their textbooks, paper shuffled as her students scrambled to follow her instructions. Zelda looked at Mary and the other teacher backed up enough so that Zelda could exit and close the door.

“Baby what’s wrong?” Vida just whined and lifted her head from Mary’s shoulder, her face was flushed red. She held her arms out and Zelda took her from Mary, gently rubbing her daughter’s small back.

“A teaching assistant brought her over when they couldn’t get a hold of you or Hilda. I was making copies when I saw her and they let me take her to bring her to you.” Zelda sighed and looked at her daughter who’s breathing was raspy but even, she was asleep.

“My phone’s in my office.” Zelda said it in a whisper. Her phone was always in her office, in the bottom right drawer of her desk along with her purse. She was lucky if she remembered to charge it every night and to take it with her when she left the house. Mary smiled at her softly and placed a small kiss on Vida’s head. She turned to leave but Zelda stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “I need a little favor.” Mary smirked and leaned against a row of lockers. She gave a nod to say that she was ready to listen.

Zelda finished the rest of her fifth period class with her daughter on her hip. Her students were stunned at the sight of a small child on their strictly business teacher’s hip but after drilling them on a few questions they didn’t give it a second thought. Mary snuck in as they were leaving, in her arms was Zelda’s coat. Zelda took her coat from Mary with a quick kiss as thanks. Mary just smirked and winked before leaving. Zelda asked her to retrieve it from her office because as much as she acted like it was nothing Vida was heavy. Zelda took her coat and draped it over her desk chair in a way so that it created a nest of sorts when she placed her daughter in it. Vida whimpered a little but she remained asleep, her cheek nuzzled the tufts of fur of Zelda’s coat. Zelda groaned and rolled her shoulder, her muscles tingled as the feeling returned. As a precaution she moved the trash can in her daughters eyesight. Zelda didn’t know how badly the bug affected her daughter but Vida had already puked once. It was better to be safe than sorry.

The final dismissal bell woke Vida up. She whimpered and started to dry heave into the trash can. Zelda was immediately by her side, rubbing her back and whispering softly. Vida was crying which was making the dry heaving even worse and it broke Zelda’s heart. It would break any mother’s heart, seeing their baby in pain or discomfort. Eventually, Vida stopped heaving but she was still crying.

“Oh baby. What’s wrong? Does your tummy hurt?” Vida just whimpered, Zelda took it as a yes. “Give mommy a minute and we’ll go home okay?” Vida didn’t even say anything, she just crawled into Zelda’s lap. Zelda sighed and settled her daughter into her arms. It was harder doing everything one handed but after four years she had it down to a science. She closed her classroom door with a heavy sigh. She was leaving a lot unfinished but her daughter came first. Zelda took Vida home.

* * *

 

Zelda came in to work the next day groggy.

She lost countless hours of sleep because of Vida. Despite being given medicine when they got home and at bedtime her daughter woke up almost every two hours like clock work either vomiting or complaining of stomach pains. Zelda was up with her every time, trying to sooth the pain away and rocking her back to sleep. At around four Vida fell into a deep sleep. Zelda smiled softly at her baby, Vida looked so small burrowed underneath her comforter and curled into a tiny ball on Zelda’s bed. Zelda kissed her cheek and got up to shower for the day. Had she had a choice in the matter Zelda wouldn’t even think about coming into work. Vida’s not like Sabrina or Amrose, she’s a small child who couldn’t take care of herself, she needed Zelda, but Hawthorne had made it clear when she called the evening before that she would be at great risk of losing her job because she was the only one who could do her job. It enraged Zelda but Hilda was able change her shift so she could stay home and Zelda was able to go into work. She was tired but there, making her way to her classroom.

Having left so much unfinished from the day before Zelda went straight to her classroom. She had unfinished grading, note revision, her blackboards… didn’t need to be prepared? Zelda looked around her classroom stunned. Her blackboards didn’t have yesterday's lessons but that day’s and underneath the smell of the chalk she picked up a trace of vinegar. So whoever prepared her blackboards knew not only where she kept her notes and how she set up her blackboards with the date, warm-up, agenda, then homework all in the corresponding language for the period but her cleaning routine. And there was only one person in the school who knew everything.

* * *

 

Zelda didn’t see Mary until lunch.

Playing catch up with her grading took her all morning and with back to back classes there was no way she could sneak away to see Mary. But Zelda knew Mary and without fail Mary would show up in her doorway to join her for lunch. Or, at least that’s what Zelda believed to have happen. She will deny it but by the time lunch came around and she made her way to her office Zelda was so tired that before she knew it she fell asleep at her desk. Mary woke her by softly whispering in her ear and gently shaking her shoulder. Zelda woke with a groan and a yawn that caused her cheeks to flush with embarrassment. Mary just smiled at her and handed her a cup of coffee.

“Better?” Zelda nodded and took a sip of the coffee Mary offered her. It tasted vile but the caffeine rush was worth it.

“A little. How long was I…”

“Asleep? About half an hour. You were in dream land when I came in. I figured that if you didn’t wake up on your own I’d let you sleep until there was five minutes before lunch ended so you could eat something.” Mary pushed the bag of apple slices that came from her untouch lunch. Zelda took one and started to eat it slowly.

“Mary?” Mary hummed and tilted her head slightly to the side. “What are you doing next Saturday?”

“Nothing of importance why?”

“I want to take you out to dinner properly this time.”

“Not that I will complain but why? You know that I don’t like to share.”

“I know. But you have done so much that at the very least I should treat you to a lovely candle light dinner out on the town.” The bell rang and both she and Mary got up.

“If that is what you want then who am I to deny you.” Mary smirked and turned on her heel. Zelda stopped her by taking hold of her wrist. Mary quirked an eyebrow at her but Zelda in one swoop kissed Mary and half twirled so that her back was facing the door. When Zelda pulled away Mary looked at her a little flustered. Zelda just smirked and turned to leave. Half way out the door she heard Mary say, “Damn you Zelda Spellman.” It made Zelda’s smirk that much larger.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter! To those who don't celebrate Easter happy Sunday. Regardless enjoy!

The last week of school leading up to the holiday break could be summed up in one word; caos! Not even halfway into the week Zelda was ready to tear her own hair out. The focus levels of her students was zero and she was really considering throwing in the towel. Zelda had decided long ago that she would break up her mid term with the actual test that would take place later in January and a project that would take place over the holiday. Her students weren’t the happiest with having a project over the break but that’s why Zelda gave them the whole week before to work on it. Not that they did. Which was a problem for her fourth period Spanish and fifth period French 1 classes, they would only have access to the main material of their project that week. Zelda’s project for her level one classes was an oral book report. Students would have to read a book and give key points about the book using the language that they had learned plus a written report about the book, which she allowed them to do in English. Zelda brought in the books which she assigned to an individual student in terms of interest or challenge.

All of the books that she brought in belonged to Vida. When Zelda asked her daughter if she could borrow her books she could tell that Vida had mixed feelings. On one hand she liked helping her mother teaching but one the other they were her books and she was protective over them. They spent a majority of Sunday afternoon going through Vida’s collection to see which ones that Zelda could take and were appropriate for her students. Vida helped though she kept her Madeline books close to her tiny body. Vida cherished her Madeline books, Zelda wouldn’t dream about taking those when there was a chance that they would come back in less than the perfect condition that Vida kept them in. Zelda only trusted her students to a point which was why she was aiming towards the books her daughter no longer reads or never really liked. Which ended up being smart.

A few of the books that Zelda took were from Vida’s baby and toddler years. They were thick cardboard books with little language in them and large pictures that clearly told what the story was about. They were perfect for someone like Seth Grinwis. Over the weeks the few students that fought her cleaned up their acts so that they could scrape a passing grade at the end of the year but Seth Grinwis refused to participate. Zelda gave him Vida’s baby books because if recent test scores proved anything he wouldn’t be able to understand even the more simpler books. When they broke for lunch she found the books torn apart and in pieces on the floor. Zelda’s blood boiled with rage, she warned her students of the consequences and Seth Grinwis complete lack of respect astonished her. She wrote a note to herself to give Seth detention when they get back from break.

Despite everything Zelda found that her mood remained placate and the only reason as to why was because of Mary. When her mind wasn’t consumed with lesson plans or her duties to her family Zelda found herself thinking of Mary. Zelda spent her nights doing as much research as she could on Ambrose’s laptop, the options didn’t overwhelm her like before and slowly an idea was forming in her mind. By Thursday she had everything set up exactly as she wanted it.

* * *

 

There just came one little hitch. A snow storm was threatening to hit the area. Around half a foot of snow was going to fall over the weekend starting mid to late Friday evening and stopping, if they were lucky, Sunday morning. Combine that with the last day of school before break and about a fourth of the student body even attended school. A few teachers had called out as well but Hawthorne wasn’t budging, he still declared it a full school day. While Zelda still went to work she let Sabrina stay home. It was still unclear if Hilda would be going into work but she wanted to get some last minute essentials and it would be a whole lot easier on her if she didn’t have to take Vida with her. Unlike the high school Vida’s school closed and having just recovered from a nasty bug Zelda didn’t want her out unless it was unavoidable. Sabrina didn’t mind, she just shrugged and went back to bed.

After that everything fell apart. The restaurant Zelda made reservations for left a voicemail that they wouldn’t be opening over the weekend due to the weather. The rest of the town followed, the alert went out before noon. It meant that Zelda was left with no choice but to cancel. Which she was going to do but as they sat in her office eating lunch the words wouldn’t come out. Zelda let the hour end with Mary kissing her on the cheek and leaving a trail of perfume behind her. It still nawed at Zelda when she made her way home at two. She should have told Mary and it would only be fair that it be done face to face. She agonized over it, pacing the hall like a caged tiger. Ever so often she stopped in front of the phone, gearing herself to call Mary but at the last minute she chicken out and resumed her pacing. Eventually, Hilda, who had been watching Zelda from the kitchen with Sabrina, got fed up and with a huff stod in the direct path of her pacing, grabbed her by the arms, and pushed her out the door, clicking the lock so Zelda couldn’t get back in. Zelda just stood on the porch in a mix of flabbergast, anger, and freezing. She couldn’t believe that her sister threw her out of her own house. The door opened but before Zelda could yell about being tossed out Hilda threw her her coat and purse and closed the door again. With a huff Zelda put her coat on and went to the only place she could go, her car. Zelda sat in her car, fuming and shivering, how dare Hilda kick her out. Her purse started to vibrate and after some digging Zelda was able to find her phone. Across the screen was a message from Hilda.

_Hilda: Go see your girlfriend_

* * *

 

By the time Zelda pulled up to Mary’s house it was snowing steadily. Mary rose an eyebrow when she opened the door but let her in. Zelda placed a kiss on Mary’s cheek as she entered, hanging her coat on the coat rack.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you but… you know.” Zelda did know. The reason played out in front of her through the window that was behind Mary.

“Yes well… Hilda kicked me out.” Zelda rolled her eyes as Mary started to chuckle but Zelda herself couldn’t help but smile as well. The whole situation was ridiculous.

“Now why would Hilda kick you out?”

“I wouldn’t stop pacing over not telling you in person that I had to cancel.”

“Why did you do that? I knew instantly from the weather report that we weren’t going.”

“I just… I…” Zelda shrugged. She couldn’t figure out how to express what she feeling, in any language. Instead she stepped closer to Mary, wrapping her arms around Mary’s waist and resting her head on her shoulder. Mary’s perfume filled her senses causing Zelda to nuzzle her face further into Mary’s shoulder. Mary sighed, her chest slowly rising and falling against Zelda’s, and wrapped her arms around Zelda’s shoulders.

“Well… you’re here now and welcomed to stay if you like.” Zelda hummed as she thought it over. A part of her knew that she better get on home, the weather was bad and the roads won’t be drivable for long. But another part of her, a small part of her that she pushed so far down that she could pretend it wasn’t there, was telling her to stay.

For the first time in a very long time she listened to that small part of herself.

* * *

 

“What did you do?” Zelda hummed and turned to her side so she faced Mary. After a light pasta dinner and a movie they went upstairs to just lie in Mary’s bed. Mary handed her those same pajamas as before, they were starting to grow on her. Mary changed into her green robe, Zelda was growing attached to that robe, she like how smooth it was and how it warmed up with Mary’s body heat. She rose an eyebrow hoping Mary would take the hint and continue. “That ‘selfish thing’, what was it?” Oh, that. Zelda sat up and brought her knees up to her chest. She wasn’t in a ball but her knees were close enough that she could rest her forearms on them. She sat there in silence looking straight ahead at the plain wall, the only sound was their breathing and her heartbeat. She’s never told this story to anyone before.

“I ran away.” Zelda turned her head to the side to look at Mary. Mary placed a hand on her hip, her nails scraped against the cotton material of her t-shirt, and gave Zelda a soft smile. “My mother sent Hilda, our brother Edward, and myself to boarding school in England as soon as she could. Over the years I craved being over there because it was the only time that I had for me. I could pursue what I wanted and my opinions and needs mattered. I was afraid of losing that so when I entered my final years of high school I worked my ass off and graduated early. I didn’t tell anyone and when we landed in London I told my siblings to go on without me if I wasn’t back by a certain time. I took my return flight ticket and exchanged it for one to Portugal.

I spent the next two years hitchhiking across Spain and France. I worked when I needed money or a place to sleep. I spent most of my time in the larger cities like Paris and Barcelona to take in the art and the culture. I made it all the way to Vienna until Edward found me. He brought me back kicking and screaming. He and my mother made me apologise for running off but I’m not. I don’t regret it one bit.” Zelda didn’t know that she was crying until she felt the hot tears running down her cheeks. She still remembered that moment of liberation, feeling completely free and having nothing to worry about other than her needs and how her mother and Edward tried to take that feeling away. Mary sat up, her hair was tousled from laying on it. She brought a hand up to caress Zelda’s cheek, her thumb running over the tracks her tears left. Zelda’s eyes fluttered and she nuzzled her cheek into Mary’s palm. Zelda then leaned in to kiss Mary, it was soft and slow. Mary deepened the kiss but kept the slow pace. Mary’s arm snaked around Zelda’s waist, bring her closer. When Mary fell back onto the bed Zelda didn’t get up, she swung her leg over so she was straddling Mary. She continued on kissing Mary with their bodies close together well into the night.

* * *

 

Zelda ended up staying until Sunday morning.

Going anywhere Saturday was impossible but it stopped snowing early Sunday morning. Zelda called home Saturday to tell Hilda where she was and that she was still alive. She also talked to Vida, letting her daughter know where she was and to mind her Aunt Hilda. Vida seemed okay with her not being there but Zelda told Hilda to call if something was wrong. Hilda didn’t call once. At around nine Zelda woke up alone but after showering and heading downstairs she found Mary in the kitchen fixing breakfast. It wasn’t anything elaborate, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, but it was enough. Dr. Cerberus called asking if she needed any assistance getting home. Zelda thought about it and agreed to his offer. So she dressed in the clothes that she wore coming to Mary’s house and kissed Mary goodbye when he knocked on Mary’s door. He came with a large plow truck, Mary was happy to hear that he plowed her roads and thanked him for doing so. He hitched Zelda’s car to the back and she rode with him in the front. In the side mirror Zelda saw Mary standing in her doorway, shivering in her green robe and waving with a soft smirk on her face. Zelda watched until Mary disappeared from view.

When they arrived at her house Dr. Cerberus joined her saying Hilda invited him for a cup of tea. She didn’t question him, she was trying to trust him more, it was the least she could do after all that he had done. Vida was waiting for her, she latched onto her legs and after placing her coat in the closet Zelda picked her up. Being at Mary’s was fun, exhilarating, but she missed her daughter. A little while later she and her daughter went outside. Vida wanted to play in the snow and after finding all of the gear Zelda agreed. And though freezing Zelda felt a ball of warmth in her chest as she watch Vida trekking her way in a snowsuit through waist deep snow, doing snow angels, sledding down hills, and making snowmen, or trying to, neither of them were very good at it. Later they sat by the fire in the den with hot chocolate and tired from being outside Vida curled into her lap and fell asleep. Zelda smiled softly as she comb her fingers through her daughter’s hair. Since arriving home Zelda noticed something eye opening. No one questioned where she was or what she did. Everyone was fine, the house was still standing, and her daughter showed no lasting effect caused by her absence.

So maybe her mother was wrong, it was okay it be a little selfish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not commit on what may or may not happen. I'll leave that to you guys ;)


	10. The One With the Gingerbread and Reindeer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I am posting the new chapter a day early but don't get used to it I'll still be posting every other Sunday. This was just an exception. Either way enjoy!

The holidays did absolutely nothing for Zelda. They were over bearing, loud, and more of a hassle than they were worth. And Hild didn’t help. The holiday’s sent Hilda into some sort of over drive. She buzzed around the house decorating, or baking, or shopping, which Zelda was especially grateful for. Zelda detested going out if she didn’t have to. Everything was crowded and the weather was crap. And while Zelda was completely content with Hilda baking everything in the known universe and decorating the entire house in lights and tassel she did have one little problem. Hilda had to work, so it was often up to Zelda to finish what her sister had started. Finish decorating the banisters, taking whatever was in the oven out, all of which Zelda didn’t mind doing. It was the shoping, a necessary evil that Zelda, unfortunately, found herself doing after Hilda was called into work.

After trying to find a parking spot for ten minutes Zelda and her daughter entered Greendale’s only grocery store. The store was, of course, busy. Zelda, fearful that she would be seperated from her small child, told Vida to stick with the cart. Vida never liked to be contained in things like strollers and she was too big to be placed in the small seat on the front of the cart. Zelda’s first stop was the deli, the lines were always long and after placing her order she could do a majority of her shopping while she waited. While she didn’t want her daughter wandering too much she did let Vida help. Produce was the biggest help, she knew exactly what to get and how to weight it so Zelda could calculate it out. She also helped with items on lower shelves or too far back for Zelda to see. Zelda could tell that Vida enjoyed helping, she was proud when she found the right thing and placing it neatly in the cart. Zelda didn’t have to chase her around like she used to have to do with Sabrina. Sabrina was a nightmare, when she wasn’t sulking about having been dragged out she was running around everywhere and touching everything that she could get her little hands on. Vida didn’t touch anything that wasn’t necessary and placed back what they didn’t need exactly where she got it. Whenever Zelda sent her daughter down an aisle it was never but a few feet away and she always watched, keeping a close eye on her daughter and the people. The people were getting on Zelda’s last nerves. They crowded the aisles and always seemed like they were in a rush to get to one place to another, not caring about what was going around them. So the sheer feeling of panic she felt when she lost sight of Vida was completely justified. Leaving everything behind Zelda went up the aisle, praying that Vida was okay. The relief that she felt when that was the case made her sigh as her heartbeat returned to normal. Vida was smiling and rocking on her heels as she talked with Mary.

“Vida, you know better than to run off when I can’t see you.”

“Sorry Mommy but I saw Mary and I wanted to talk to her.”

“I understand baby but I was really worried.” Vida nodded and hung her head, she didn’t mean to upset her mother.

“I should go.” Zelda turned her attention to Mary. Mary offered a sheepish smile and slightly hunched her shoulders. Her hands were in the pockets of her leather waistcoat and next to her feet was a basket filled with a few essential items.

“I think that’s best. We’ve bothered you enough.”

“You’re no bother. Never have been.” Zelda smiled softly as a light blush formed on her cheeks. After retrieving her cart, and double checking that nothing was missing from her purse or the cart, they continued shopping. Mary joined them despite having finished her own shopping. She rotated between chatting with Zelda and assisting with Vida. It was a huge help, Zelda could calculate and pull out coupons (she did not clip them that was Hilda’s job) while Mary kept an eye on Vida. She had everything set up when the went to the cashier with Mary in front of them. It made sense for Mary to go first, she had fewer items and she placed her basket on the bottom shelf of Zelda’s cart since she couldn’t carry it while helping with Vida. She continued to help all the way to Zelda’s car, she loaded Vida while Zelda placed the groceries in the trunk. When Zelda came back from returning her cart a smile formed on her face. While she was too far away to actually hear it Zelda knew the sound of Vida’s laughter by heart and Vida was laughing as Mary tried to buckle her into her car seat. Mary couldn’t figure out what straps went where and which buckles went together. The irony was that Vida knew what went where and Mary hung her mouth open in shock as Vida buckled herself in with a smile. When she recovered from the shock Mary kissed Vida, blowing raspberries on the girls small cheek causing even more giggling. After saying goodbye to Vida Mary said goodbye to Zelda, kissing her soundly on the lips, which Zelda returned. Kissing Mary always filled Zelda with a warmth, it that stayed with her as she drove off to home.

* * *

 

The next day Hilda was home all day which meant that the kitchen was off limits. When Hilda went into her spree every little space that they had would be crowded with platters of cookies, cakes, and pies that it would be impossible to walk without bumping into something or someone. And no matter how tempted they were by the mouth watering smells sneaking something out of the kitchen was impossible. Hilda seemed to have a sense when someone entered into the kitchen and what they took, like Sabrina and Ambrose will do every time. They at one point will sneak a cookie or a tart and end up with a strip of flour on their clothing from being swatted at by Hilda’s spoon. There grins as they ate their spoils said they weren’t sorry.

Zelda ignored them as best she could. With Vida distracted she wrapped the remainder of the presents, hiding them neatly in the corner of the attic, a place that was off limits for Vida. Afterwards, she finished some last minute decorating. She found the last of the ornaments and she as well as Sabrina and Vida hung them on the tree. When they were done Sabrina suggested they watch a movie, Zelda agreed and let her and Vida choose the movie as she made some popcorn. They started the movie, a double feature of _Santa Claus is Coming to Town_ and _Year Without a Santa Claus_ , when she returned with the bowl of popcorn and a throw blanket. Zelda sat in the middle with Sabrina and Vida on either side of her and the bowl of popcorn on her lap. Some time during the movie Ambrose joined them, he took the half empty bowl and curled into the armchair. When the movie ended Zelda got up to put in a new one but before she could place in the next movie a knock came from the front door.

“Who is that?” Zelda turned to her niece and nephew, they were the only ones that would ever be expecting company but they both shrugged. Zelda went to the door, not knowing who would be knocking. She could hear the floorboards squeak slightly as Ambrose stood behind her but kept a distance. She appreciated his protectiveness, though unnecessary when she looked through the window. Zelda opened the door to reveal Mary Wardwell smirking at her.

“Sorry I’m late. Traffic in town was a nightmare.” Zelda stood shock as Mary entered, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “You look like you weren’t expecting me.”

“I wasn’t.” Zelda closed the door, the cold was starting to make her knees shake. When she turned around Mary had taken off her coat to reveal a dark green dress. She had an eyebrow raised, a tell that she was as confused as Zelda.

“Didn’t you text me last night to come over if I was free?” Behind Mary they heard a scoff and they both looked at Ambrose.

“Aunt Zelda texting? That be the day.” Zelda felt offended for a moment but pushed it down. She knew how to text thank you very much.

“Ambrose.” She didn’t need to say anything else, the sharp tone told him to go. Which he did.

“Well, now I feel foolish.”

“Don’t listen to Ambrose. I know how to text I just-”

“Didn’t text me.”

“Yes.”

“But someone did.”

“I might know who.” Zelda brushed pass Mary to go back into the parlor where Sabrina and Vida still sat on the couch. “Vida did you take Mommy’s phone without asking?” Vida squeaked and hid under the throw blanket. Zelda pulled it off and rose an eyebrow. She didn’t need Vida to answer her verbally anymore, her daughter ‘ducking for cover’ as Sabrina put it told her all she needed to know, but she wanted to know why. “Vida.” Vida curled a little and played with her fingers, she looked anywhere but at Zelda.

“I just wanted to spend time with Mary. You and Sabrina get to see her and spend time with her but I feel like I don’t.”

“Vida why didn’t you say something. If you had wanted to spend time with Mary all you had to do was ask and we could of worked something out.”

“I’m sorry.” Vida sniffled and tried to fight back tears but despite her best efforts they fell. She didn’t mean to do anything wrong. Zelda smiled softly and brought her daughter into her arms, rubbing her back and whispering softly that it was okay. When Vida’s crying slowed down to sniffles she lifted her head from her mother’s shoulder. Zelda whipped away a few stray tears.

“Well now you know to ask right?” Vida nodded sending red curls everywhere. “Good. Now go spend time with Mary.” Vida turned her head in the direction Zelda was looking. Mary stayed in the entrance of the parlor, she gave Vida a gentle smile. Vida couldn’t squirm out of her mother’s arms any faster, she ran straight to Mary the second her feet touched the ground. Mary instantly picked up Vida, hugging her tight and listened as Vida chattered on. Zelda just smiled, this definitely wasn’t how she pictured this day to go but she wasn’t complaining.

* * *

 

 __Not long after Mary arrived Zelda, reluctantly, went out. Something that Sabrina had ordered was in and she absolutely had to get it, begging and pleading with Zelda until she agreed. Zelda kissed Mary and Vida goodbye, told her daughter to mind herself, and then left with Sabrina. That left Mary on the couch watching movies with Vida. Mary didn’t mind, it was very relaxing and she enjoyed running her fingers through Vida’s hair as the small girl rested her head in her lap. As the movie winded down to an end Mary saw that Vida fell asleep. As gently as she could she moved herself out from under Vida, placing her head on a throw pillow. Mary would have stayed but she needed to use the bathroom. Before she left she cocooned Vida in a blanket and placed a soft kiss on top of her small head. On her way back from the bathroom she caught a glimpse of the kitchen. Hilda was working at a certain section of the island counter that wasn’t crowded with pastries. The look on her face was one that Mary hadn’t seen. She didn’t even think Hilda could feeling anything that wasn’t bubbly happiness but Hilda proved her wrong. Frustration was exactly what Hilda was, she groaned and took her rolling pin to beat the ball of dough in front of her.

“Need any help?” Hilda squeaked and dropped her rolling pin. It rolled onto the floor and Mary went to pick it up.

“Not unless you know how to make a gingerbread house.” Mary smirked. She did know how to do that. She took some flour and coated her hands in a good layer.

“I need a cookie sheet.” Hilda, who stood there a bit shock, recovered and went to retrieve a cool cookie sheet. In no time Mary rolled out the gingerbread dough and cut out all of the parts that she needed. There were a lot and Hilda didn’t know what they all were but she didn’t expect the help so she didn’t question Mary. While they were baking in the oven Mary and Hilda worked to making gingerbread people and animals with the remainder of the dough. It was only supposed to be people but Vida woke up and she wanted to help. Hilda didn’t mind and she helped her niece wash then coat her hands in flour. Hilda gave her the whole tin of cookie cutters and Vida went to town, using whichever ones that she liked. Each of her cookies ended up being a different shape until she found the bear cookie cutter then they all became bears. She jutted her lip out in a pout when she ran out of dough to make bear cookies. Hilda gave her a small amount of sugar cookie dough to work with and it made her happy again. Over time they became a unit, Vida cut up and placed cookies on a cool cookie sheet as Hilda moved trays in and out of the oven and Mary continued working on the gingerbread house.

The next step for Mary was to fix up the royal icing that they would use to decorate and construct the gingerbread house with. She took out a small portion of the main icing to make it more suitable for construction, made it thicker and stickier so it would hold. When it was done she placed it in a pre made pastry bag with a thick tip so it was ready to go when she needed it. She then took another large section icing to start the actual decorating with, fitting the pastry bag with a thin tip so the details would be tight. It took a lot of time and at the end of it Mary was tired but it was worth it, she was happy with the outcome. As the icing harden she went to help Vida decorate the gingerbread cookies. Between fixing sheets Vida decorated the sugar cookies with sprinkles. She tried not to make a mess but sprinkles ended up everywhere, Hilda was constantly sweeping loose sprinkles into the trash bin. Decorating the gingerbread was going to be a little more difficult and Vida didn’t know how to but Mary was with her every step of the way. Mary divided the remaining of the icing into different smaller sections so she could dye it. They had a couple of different colors, red, blue, green, the only color they didn’t have was yellow because the dye bottle was missing from the pack. Mary had to improvise with Sabrina and Hilda’s hair, she asked Hilda to pick a color and she said green so that’s what Mary went with. She went with white for Sabrina, it matched the red dress she had decorated on the cookie. As they dried Mary went to assemble the house. Hilda already had a base, which would hold the house nicely. Getting the first two walls up required another hand but with a little help from Hilda Mary got all four walls up. Next was the roof then the chimney, Mary was proud of herself that she managed to get the house up with little of the icing breaking and it stayed up, all she had to do was add some extra icing to the bottom plus a few final decorating touches and it was set. Hilda and Vida loved what she did, the whole house looked great. The final touch was adding the gingerbread version of the Spellman’s. The last gingerbread Spellman to go on was Ambrose. Vida was handing Mary the cookies, being careful with them but Mary knocked her arm slightly when she went to take the cookie. Before they could stop it the cookie version of Ambrose fell to the ground and broke into several pieces. They all looked at eachother, they were all stunned at what happened.

“We killed Ambrose.” Mary and Hilda looked at Vida then back at the broken cookie that was Ambrose. It might have been a trick of the light but the cookie looked sad that it had ‘died’. They all started laughing and then went about cleaning and finding a new Ambrose.

* * *

 

The gingerbread house was a main point of conversation that night. No one could get over that Mary made a rather impressive replica of the Spellman house and family completely out of Gingerbread. They even loved the story about cookie Ambrose, they managed to find another and named him Ambrose 2.

By dinner time the Spellman household was completely full. Harvey came when Sabrina and Zelda were still out. He was sitting on the couch when Sabrina saw him, she was happy then went panicky, she couldn’t run up the stairs fast enough. Apparently the thing she needed to pick up was Harvey’s present and Zelda just rolled her eyes at her niece. Dr. Cerberus came when Hilda was finishing cleaning the kitchen, he immediately jumped in to help. As they were seating for dinner Luke, Ambrose’s new boyfriend, came, Hilda fixed him a setting and found him a chair. They all crowded around the Spellman’s slightly too small kitchen table, they were all squeezed together but no one seemed to mind.

After dinner there was a choice between watching a movie, _Miracle on 34th Street_ or _It’s A Wonderful Life_ , or Ambrose reading _A Christmas Carol_. They went with Ambrose reading, which was fine by Zelda and Mary, they were movie-d out. Before they settled down for the reading Hilda handed them their yearly christmas pjs. Hilda started getting them pjs when Sabrina was about four and suggested it, Hilda loved it so much that she continued on doing it. Hilda handed everyone a different colored bag, Sabrina’s was yellow, Ambrose’s was green, and Zelda’s was white.

Zelda took the bag with a small eye roll. She didn’t know why her sister insisted on doing this every year when they were only going to be worn once then never be seen again but while she might not look it Hilda was stubborn and Zelda has learned over time to just go with it. Zelda, along with Vida and Mary went up to her room to change. Zelda placed the bag on her bed to take out the pajamas. She pulled out a light grey long sleeve cotton nightshirt that had ‘mamma bear’ written in plaid lettering that matched the sleeves across the chest along with a silhouette of a bear underneath the writing. Vida immediately loved it when Zelda turned it around to show her and Mary, she jumped up and down chanting oso and wanting to see what hers looked like. Nothing could prepare them for the squeal that Vida gave when she saw that the red plaid onesie that matched Zelda’s had not only little bear written on the front but had little ears on the hood and a tail. Needless to say she couldn’t wait to put it on and practically dragged Zelda into the bathroom so they could change. Zelda dressed Vida first, she was taking her clothes off before the door fully closed behind them. She had to admit her daughter looked adorable in the onesie and judging by how the sleeves hung off Vida’s arms it was about two sizes too big. Zelda had to give Hilda some credit she put a lot of thought into this. Zelda just didn’t know how she was going to get Vida out of the pjs. Now dressed Zelda and Vida left the bathroom but stopped in the doorway when they saw Mary. Hilda went all out and that included getting matching mamma bear pjs for Mary. Mary’s was a pj set with a light grey shirt, plaid pants, and ‘mamma bear’ across the chest just like Zelda’s. Vida recovered first, she ran to Mary who scooped her up and smiled as she went on about how happy she was that they were bears. Zelda stayed for another minute. She didn’t expect Hilda to get Mary pjs nor did she actually expect Mary to wear them. And they said mamma on it, Zelda didn’t know how she felt about that but oddly she didn’t dislike the idea.

Everyone was in love with the pjs this year. Each couple had their own theme; Sabrina and Harvey were elfs, Ambrose and Luke were reindeers, and Hilda and Dr. Cerberus were Mr. and Mrs. Clause. With everyone changed into their pjs they gathered around in the living room with mugs of cider and roasted chestnuts. They started a fire and dimmed the lights, it went wonderfully with the mood that Ambrose set as he read. When the story was over everyone went to bed. When Zelda reached her door she handed Vida to Mary. Vida had fallen asleep just before the ghost of Christmas future was called, Zelda just softly smiled as she lifted her daughter from the couch to carry her up the stairs. For a moment Mary rose an eyebrow even as she took Vida from Zelda but then smirked in understanding. With Vida dead asleep Zelda was taking the opportunity to play santa so she didn’t have to set her alarm early the next morning and risk the chance of waking Vida. The living room was quiet and dark except for the slowly dying embers of the fire. With her presents placed under the tree Zelda made her way back upstairs when she heard Hilda and Sabrina’s voice from the kitchen. They were saying good night to Harvey, he was sleeping in the living room. Zelda was about to say something to them but stopped when she picked up on their conversation.

“It’s so cool how you got Ms. Wardwell pajamas Aunt Hilda.”

“Can I tell you a secret love?”

“Sure Auntie.”

“I didn’t get Mary pajamas.” Zelda’s jaw drop. It was only a moment before she composed herself but she couldn’t be blamed. What was going on? What was Hilda talking about? “I got two for Zelds.”

“Wh-why?”

“Well… I never know with Zelda and what with the weather I thought I give her choices.”

“Well at least Ms. Wardwell was here at all.”

“Yeah… I did that too.”

“What do you mean?”

“I texted Mary from Zelda’s phone. I mean, you invited Harvey and then Ambrose was bringing Luke over and between the weather and the holidays Dr. Cee couldn’t go anywhere so I invited him over. I knew inviting Mary over would just stress out Zelda more so I just…” While Zelda couldn’t see Hilda she could picture her sister waving something like a spoon in the air. “I didn’t expect her to blame Vida. The poor little lamb probable just said how she felt and everything worked out in the end so. All's well that ends well right?” Zelda heard Sabrina give a faint ‘yeah’ as she made her way back upstairs. She heard enough and what she learned sent her mind spinning.

To start with she falsely accused her daughter of doing something that she didn’t do, but she found out something that Vida wouldn’t tell her on her own so it worked out. Also, Hilda had yet again interfered with her personal life, and while it worked out Hilda was really pushing her luck. Then there was Mary. Those pajamas in the bag weren’t for her yet she chose to wear them, and seeing the word mamma on Mary… Zelda liked it. She liked having Mary here with her and Vida. Zelda knew that Mary liked them but did she liked them enough to imply that she wanted more? And did Zelda want more? Or, more accurately, was she ready? Mary was asleep when Zelda entered her bedroom. The little lamp that she had was on so she didn’t have to navigate her room in the dark. Zelda knew the lay out of her bedroom like the back of her hand but a small detail like that, a personal touch, was completely like Mary. Zelda got into bed next to Mary, turning off the lamp before she settled under the covers. Mary stirred a little, enough that she could drape her arm over Zelda’s waist. Zelda smile to the sleeping face of Mary and settled herself further against Mary. Before she went to sleep Zelda kissed the tip of Mary’s nose. Mary’s nose scrunched out of instinct but she still remained asleep. As she drifted off to sleep Zelda came to a realization, she was ready for more.


	11. Chapter 11

The days leading up the the New Year were uneventful. People came and went; Sabrina went out with her friends, Hilda to work, Ambrose to wherever he goes and Zelda had Mary. Mary came around like clockwork, following the same pattern. Mary would come over with enough clothes and toiletries for two days, leave for a day and a half, then return to start the pattern all over again. Mary would help Zelda with her chores around the house, it made Zelda smile that Mary had no problem with vacuuming but hated doing the laundry. Just as well, Zelda hated vacuuming.

Over time they fell into this routine. Zelda was always up before Mary or Vida, she showered and dressed in her house clothes, cotton pants and a soft shirt like her Madeline t-shirt that was Vida’s Christmas present to her before heading downstairs. The morning could go in one of two ways. Way one was Mary and Vida would wake up on their own. Mary would come down in her green robe and kiss Zelda on her way to the coffee pot and Vida still dressed in her bear pjs would greet her and would want a hug. Zelda never denies her, bringing Vida into her lap so her daughter could tell her about her sleep and dreams.

Way two was at nine Zelda would head back upstairs to wake her girlfriend and daughter. Vida would sometimes still be in her own bed but more times than not she be in Zelda’s. It brought a warm feeling in Zelda’s heart every time when she saw Mary curled around her daughter who was curled around Oso. Zelda would be a fool if she didn’t capture the moment at least once. It was her new wallpaper after Sabrina, when she was done fawning, showed her how. Out of the two waking Vida was the easiest to wake, it only took some soft encouragement before she was up and on Zelda’s hip. Mary was a challenge, Zelda learned that nothing could wake Mary until Mary wanted to be up and that irked her. Zelda tried everything between soft murmurs and gently nudging to empty threats and almost pushing Mary off the bed and onto the floor. Nothing worked until Zelda set the alarm on her clock, the sound caused Mary to shoot up like a rocket with a look of panic on her face that always made Zelda and Vida laugh. Mary’s revenge was to pull Zelda in by her hips until she fell on the bed. Mary would lay back down, facing Zelda as she brought a hand to gently stroke her cheek. They stay that way, just softly smiling at eachother and or lightly kissing, until Vida squirmed saying that she was hungry. Mary would hum in a way that sounded like a growl, the only warning she would give, before she attacked Vida, bringing her into her arms and tickling her. It brought a smile to everyone’s face and a laugh or two before they left for breakfast. Way two was definitely Zelda’s favorite way to start her day.

Nights were the same. Zelda always put Vida to bed but Mary put a spin to their usual routine. At eight Zelda would bring Vida upstairs for bath. Zelda’s instinct about the bear onesie was spot on, Vida never wanted to take it off and she didn’t want to wear any other pjs and after three days straight days of Vida wearing it odor and stains were starting to build up. After bath Zelda and even Mary tried to convince Vida to put on new fresher pjs but she wasn’t budging, Vida would pick up her bear onesie and put it on herself with a defiant pout. Zelda would look at Mary who just gave her a soft smile as to say ‘what are you gonna do?’ With the pj battle lost for another night Zelda and Mary would sit on Vida’s bed so Vida could read. When Mary was over Vida would read one of her old books so she could share them with Mary. When Vida could no longer keep her eyes open Zelda and Mary would tuck her in, each of them dropping a kiss onto Vida’s forehead. With Vida tucked in bed Zelda and Mary would go down to the parlor sometimes to read or to drink a little whisky but always they would sit on the couch with Zelda curled into Mary’s side or pressed into her front. Throughout the night Mary would pepper the back of Zelda’s head and neck with kisses, they always brought a soft smile to Zelda’s face. They would call it a night sometime before midnight. They would climb into their respective sides, kiss one last time, and then settle down under the covers. Not long after the lights were turned off would Mary’s arm find its way around Zelda’s waist. Zelda just smiled and settled herself in Mary’s arms, letting the extra warmth lull her to sleep.

* * *

 

With New years being the last weekend of the holiday break Zelda was preparing for returning to work. She made sure that her case was organized and had everything that she needed. She did the same with Vida and Sabrina though her niece grumbled about the fact that she was going back to school so soon. After lunch she settled Vida down for a nap. Vida didn’t nap much and they weren’t very long, about an hour or so, but Zelda used them to get things done without worry over Vida. One of those things was as she called them ‘personal time’ which was just a fancy way of saying she shaved her legs. It didn’t seem like a big deal but Zelda didn’t like to keep her feminine hygiene products, mainly her razors, lying around where Vida could reach them. She wasn’t afraid of the questions but more concerned over her daughters safety.

Zelda changed into a pair of silk boy shorts and started to fill the tub with hot water. Steam filled the room making it warm but not uncomfortable. After moving around some of the bottles from around the tub Zelda had enough room to place her shaving cream and razor. When the water reached her ankles Zelda shut off the water. Sitting on the curve edge of the tub she started to with her left leg, going from ankle to hip. Before she started with her right leg Zelda released some of the water, it was starting to get cold. As the tub refilled she checked on Vida, she was still asleep, it meant Zelda had about half an hour left if she was lucky. With fresh water she started her right leg. She didn’t even finish her calf when there was a knock on her bathroom door. Zelda sighed, a little annoyed that she had less time than planned, but let the person enter. It was Hilda, her sister handed her her cellphone and said it was Mary.

“Hello Mary.”

“Did you get the email?”

“What email?”

“The email that Hawthorne sent that there is a staff New Years party this evening. Attendance is mandatory because god forbid you didn’t have plans.” Zelda smiled at Mary’s annoyance and can picture Mary rolling her eyes.

“Well I appreciate the heads up. I’m finishing something up but when I’m done I’ll look into it.”

“Well, while I have you did you want me to pick you up? It starts at eight but it’s in Riverdale so I could get you around seven.” Zelda checked the time, it was almost two. She should have enough time.

“That sound perfect. While it’s on my mind you left your shampoo here and I just ran out of mine would you mind if I use yours?”

“Not at all. You’re free to it. See you at seven.” With a crisp bye Zelda hung up. When she was done with shaving her legs she left the bathroom to check on her daughter and to tell her family of her plans. Vida wasn’t in her bed, she must of woken up when Hilda came in and went downstairs with her. Before leaving her room Zelda picked up her laundry basket and took a set of pajamas for her daughter, those bear pjs were going to be washed if it was the last thing she did. Vida wasn’t happy about it but she put on the other pjs so her bear onesie could be washed. She sat in front of the machine watching and waiting, Zelda just sighed, what could she do? She told Hilda about Vida being in the laundry room before making her way back to her room. Step one was to take out a dress from the back of the closet and move it so it was hanging on the front of the door. Step two was getting herself ready. She showered, checking for any small hairs she might of missed. She blow dried her hair so it was dried but didn’t style it, she saved that until after she was dressed. Still in her robe Zelda did her makeup and some light plucking to her eyebrows, just enough to keep them neat and sharp. When that was done she changed out of her robe and into the under garments she was going to wear that night. Before she placed on her stockings she applied lotion to her skin, winter made her skin dry and she liked the suitle sent of the lotion on her skin. After getting dressed and hair perfectly in place Zelda checked the time, it wasn’t even six thirty. She congratulated herself on a job well done.

When Zelda made it downstairs she found that Mary had already arrived. Mary stood in the area between the front entrance and the entrance to the parlor with Vida making home on her hip while she talked to Sabrina, Zelda couldn’t see her niece but she could hear her. Mary turned to look at her when she reached the last few steps, she gave Zelda her usual smirk.

“You’re early.” Mary hummed, the sound low and deep as Zelda kissed her in greeting.

“I didn’t know what the traffic was going to be like so I left a little early. You look beautiful by the way.” Zelda blushed and subconsciously ran her hands down the front of her dress.

“Thank you. You look nice as well.” Mary scoffed and rolled her eyes. Mary was dressed in an all black skirt suit set that had a slight shine to it that Zelda couldn’t tell if it was the fabric or sequence. It was very sharp and so very Mary. Zelda was completely honest when she said Mary looked nice. “I see that you lured Vida from the laundry room.”

“What were you doing in the laundry room little bear?” Zelda’s heart swelled in a mass of warmth. Since Christmas Mary started calling Vida ‘little bear’ and every time it filled Zelda with that same warm feeling. Vida mumbled something about her bear onesie that caused Mary to smile softly at her. “We should get going.” Zelda nodded and held out her arms to take Vida from Mary.

“Bye Mary.”

“Bye little bear.” Mary kissed Vida on the side of her head before handing her over to her mother.

“Bye mommy.”

“Bye baby. Be good for Sabrina okay?”

“Okay. Love you mommy.”

“Love you baby.” Zelda placed one last kiss on Vida’s small cheek before setting her down. Mary had her coat, she held it out to Zelda and then they left to go to something that neither of them was looking forward to.

* * *

 

After sitting through almost forty minutes of traffic Zelda and Mary made it to the location that this big New Years party was being held. The party was being held at the art museum, a woman that they didn’t recognize checked them in and gave them a sticker that had their names and school on it. Zelda and Mary looked at each other confused, why would they need name tags if this was a staff New Years party? The name tags were because Baxter High wasn’t the only school there, Riverdale and other schools in the area were in attendance, Zelda ran into her daughter’s teacher and they talked quickly about Vida briefly before parting. Zelda spent most of the night touring the museum with a glass of champagne in one hand and Mary’s hand in the other. Mary wasn’t up to socializing with others and after catching glimpse of both Hawthorne and the superintendent they both agreed that if they kept moving they would be harder to find. And it was working fabulously.

Zelda and Mary found a wing that was dimly lit and had no foot traffic. They sat on a bench as close together as possible without overlapping while they shared a plate of cheese and drank champagne. The music filtered in from the rest of the gallery to create a low soft hum. It was peaceful, perfect, and Zelda soaked it up. She rested her head on Mary’s shoulder and Mary started to play with the ends of her hair.

“Do you want some more champagne? Or are you in the mood for something else?” Zelda hummed and lifted her head from Mary’s shoulder. While it wasn’t that late the atmosphere and the calmness with Mary was making her drowsy. She needed something that would clear the fog from her mind.

“It’s okay I’ll get it.” Mary opened her mouth to protest as she got up from the bench but Zelda stopped her with kiss to her cheek. “Besides I need to use the restroom. Did you want anything?”

“For you to return.” Zelda chuckled and rolled her eyes.

“Only if you never say something like that again.”

“No promises.” Zelda didn’t have to look at Mary to know she was smirking. After using the bathroom Zelda went searching for the area that food and drinks were being served. There wasn’t much and Zelda scowled that the only caffeine option that she had was soda which was something she detested. With no other options she took it and a ginger ale for Mary. Drinks in hand Zelda left to return to Mary but was stopped by Hawthorne.

“There you are Ms. Spellman I was beginning to think you were a no show. Have you seen Ms. Wardwell?” Zelda didn’t respond. She didn’t want to tell Hawthorne that Mary was here if it caused him to go on a man hunt to find her. But on the other hand she didn’t want Mary to get into any unnecessary trouble. She opened her mouth to say she did see Mary but in a different direction than where she was going but he stopped her. “Nevermind, that’s not important right now. Would you mind coming with me for a second?” Before she could say anything he took the drinks from her and led her over to where two men were talking. “Gentlemen I would like to introduce you to Ms. Spellman. Ms. Spellman this is Mr. Weatherbee principle of Riverdale high and Mr. Blackwood headmaster of Gehenna Academy.” Zelda just stood there frozen even as Mr. Hawthorne talked on but she couldn’t for the life of her registered what was happening. Her focus was on _him_. His focus was on her as well, he looked at her from the corner of his eyes even as he continued conversing with the other men. It took her a minute be she was able to compose herself enough to whisper an ‘excuse me’ to dismiss herself from the situation. Removing herself didn’t regain her focus, the halls all blurred together and the music was deafening, had it always been that loud? By some miracle she made it outside, the cold bit into her exposed skin and the air felt sharp, cleansing, in her lungs. Deep breath in, deep breath out. It felt good and she was able to focus on the now, like Mary waiting for her. Shit, Mary. Zelda turned to go back inside but stood rooted in place when she saw _him_.

“Faustus.” Faustus Blackwood. He stood there in the doorway dressed in a black three piece suit and in his hand was his walking stick which he used more for appearance than practicality.

“Zelda.” He moved away from the doorway, a way of telling her to come back inside but she didn’t budge. “How are you doing?”

“What do you want?” Zelda squared helsef to try to stop herself from shivering. She refused to show anything to Faustus.

“I just wanted to see how you are.”

“You saw me. Now go.”

“Zelda I-”

“Enough. There is nothing that you can say Faustus. You made your feelings clear and so did I.” Zelda moved then, plowing her way through the doorway, pass him without a second look. Zelda made her way back into the museum, back to Mary. Mary found her first. Zelda crashed into Mary, knocking the wind after her.

“Wow where’s the fire? Are you okay? You’re blue.” A shudder went down Zelda’s spine when Mary’s warm hand touched her cheek.

“I’m fine. Can we leave?”

“Absolutely.” After collecting there coats they left. Mary draped an arm around Zelda’s shoulders. Zelda didn’t mind, she settled closer to Mary’s side soaking in the warmth. They made it to Mary’s house a little past twelve, they immediately went upstairs to ready for bed. Zelda was ready first, she climbed into the bed, settling into the sheets as she waited for Mary. Mary joined her when she was half asleep. “Did something happen?” Zelda looked at Mary with hooded eyes, too tired she just nodded. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not now.” Mary nodded and settled down next to Zelda. Zelda hummed and placed herself closer to Mary, resting her head on her shoulder and draping an arm around her middle. Mary hummed and nuzzled her face into Zelda’s hair. Mary’s fingertips played along her back, it helped place her in a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

Zelda woke just as the sun was starting to rise. She stayed in bed with Mary for a few minutes before leaving. After a pit stop to the bathroom she went downstairs putting on a pot of coffee but didn’t fix herself a cup. Instead she went outside. It was cold but not biting and the sun shone to make the icicles shimmer as they melted. Zelda sat on the stoop letting the morning air fill her. She didn’t know how long she was sitting there but the shadow of a tree moved to where Mary’s car was parked when Mary joined her. Mary handed her two still warm mugs of coffee as she sat down next to Zelda, wrapping a blanket around their shoulders. Zelda handed a mug back to Mary and they sat there is silence just drinking from their mugs.

“I met someone that I washed my hands of.” Zelda looked at Mary. Mary’s face didn’t give anything away but it was still soft, she was ready to listen to whatever Zelda had to say. “He and I… it was a mistake and in the end we both made are feelings clear. It’s completely unfair. I made a decision to do something that absolutely petrifies me and there he was like a slap in the face with the gal to act like nothing happen.”

“What did you decide on?”

“That I love you. I love spending time with you and I love seeing you with Vida and that we should do more as the three of us because I love it.” Mary’s mouth opened in shock and Zelda couldn’t blame her. This was a bombshell that Zelda placed in front of her but she needed to say it.

“Well, clearly meeting this person didn’t change how you feel.” Now it was Zelda’s turn to look at Mary shocked. Mary was right. Running into Faustus didn’t change anything. Zelda’s feeling for Mary stayed the same, was the first thing on her mind when she regained focus. And if nothing had changed why should she let it affect her? Zelda couldn’t help but chuckle at her own foolishness.

“You’re right.” Mary smirked at her and they shared their first kiss of the morning.

“Shall we head back in?” Zelda nodded and took Mary’s hand that she offered to help her up. “By the way, I love you and Vida.” Zelda’s heart filled with that warmness that brought tears to her eyes that ary brushed away. Zelda felt lighter, the world didn’t seem so overwhelming so long as she had Mary by her side.


	12. The One With the Movie Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so to be completely honest with you guys I am working on the next chapter but two things happened, one that is mine fault and another that isn't in my control. Basically, I don't want you guys to panic if the next chapter ends up being a little late. What happening is that my work for the next two weeks is taking a lot of time and when I'm done I'm usually not in the mood to write, I hate to admit it but it's true. Where I am at fault is that I started reading Harry Potter number 5 and it took up all of my free time over this weekend. I'm sorry you guys but again I am working on it. Thank you for your understanding and have a safe and happy Pride.

January was not a good month for Baxter High. It was testing month, there was the junior and seniors SATs, state mandated testing, and mid terms. The SATs caused Zelda’s upper students to show up for her classes blurred eye due to lack of sleep, two of her students even fell asleep. Not even two weeks in and Zelda was already tired and a little bit annoyed by it all. And while she had to move some things around there was some things she refused to compromise on. Like the book report her fourth period Spanish 1 and fifth period French 1 class were to give in the day they came in. They all went pale in fear when they read the board that they would be presenting their reports. And they had every right to be afraid, none of them were prepared, about half had the actual type up report and they all jumped in their seats when she called their name. There was exceptions, like Roz and Susie who were the only two to earn a passing grade. And of course, Seth Grinwis wasn’t prepared at all. Zelda called on him first and after he stuttered for a minute to say he didn’t even have it she served him with two weeks detention, one week for destroying the book and another for not doing the assignment. He flushed in embarrassment before retaking his seat and he sat there in a stew.

* * *

 

Mid term week wasn’t as bad as she expected. It was more tedious than anything with all the grading that she had to do but with the students going home so early and having about five hours to kill before she had to pick up Vida she didn’t mind. While they didn’t have an official lunch hour Mary still came around the same time, it provided her with a welcomed break. Because the cafeteria was closed during term week Zelda split her lunch with Mary. This all worked fine until Thursday came.

By Thursday all of the schools were getting out early, a fact that Zelda completely forgot until Vida’s school called her. Zelda mumbled a curse when she ended the call, she had to pick up Vida but she was scheduled to submit her grades into the computer. She didn’t know what she was going to do until Mary showed up.

“Lunch?”

“Actually I need a favor.”

“Sure. Is something wrong?”

“Not exactly. Vida got out early but I need to submit my grades into the computer. Could you pick her up, please?”

“Absolutely. You do what you have to do I got Vida.”

“Mary thank you.” Mary just smirked and kissed Zelda on the cheek. Zelda responded by giving Mary a quick peck on the lips. Together they walked to the front of the school, grades could only be submitted with the computers in the school office, that’s where they parted Zelda watching Mary leaving through the front doors of the school. Another teacher was leaving the office, Zelda vaguely recognized him from the science department and they gave each other a silent head nod in greeting. Zelda sat at an unoccupied terminal with a heavy sigh. Let the fun begin.

* * *

 

Mary decided to walk to Vida’s school. The elementary school wasn’t that far and without any new snow the sidewalks were relatively hazard free. Not knowing where when she was going when she got there she asked the school secretary who pointed her in the direction of where Vida was. There weren’t that many kids left so they combined them all into the school gym since they couldn’t go outside to play. Vida was sitting against a wall by herself reading a book.

“Gotten to the good part yet?” Vida jumped but when she saw that it was Mary she smiled a large smile and hugged Mary. Mary picked her up which was when a teacher came over. Mary handed her the note that Zelda wrote her, it was signed and after comparing the signatures Mary was allowed to take Vida. They walked back to the high school with Vida talking the whole way and her hand in Mary’s. After thinking it over Mary took Vida to her office instead of Zelda’s, it didn’t feel right to just use the space without permission and besides she needed to do some lesson revision so her office was best. Vida looked around the space with wide eyes, taking in everything that was new to her like the paintings and the books. Next to Mary’s desk was some newspapers, Mary picked them up sometimes when she was at the store, they were cheap and she could usually find another use for them. Vida looked them over and that’s when she remembered something that she have been meaning to ask.

“Mary?” Mary hummed and she looked up from her papers. “What does ‘going to the movies’ mean?”

“What do you mean baby bear?”

“Sabrina keeps saying that she goes to the movies but I know we watch movies on the TV and she leaves when she says that. Where does she go? Does she go to the actual movie?” For a moment Mary was confused to what Vida wanted but when it clicked she smiled.

“Oh! No, honey when Sabrina says that she’s going to the movie theater.”

“Oooohhhhh okay. What’s that?”

“A movie theater is a place that shows movies on really big screens.”

“And it’s fun?”

“It can be.”

“Can I go to the movies?”

“If your mom says it’s okay absolutely.” That brought a bright smile to Vida’s face and she climbed into one of Mary’s spare chairs. With her curiosity satisfied she brought out her book and started to read. Mary smiled at her and brought out her laptop, it never hurt to do some beforehand research.

* * *

 

After three grueling hours Zelda was done. She hated that they had to submit their grades into the computer. It wasn’t that she hated technology she just didn’t have the patience for it which was why between that and time she had to submit grades for the whole quarter plus the mid term. After she submitted her grades she got a picture on where her students stood and she wrote a list of students to talk to. She even wrote down Seth’s name because even though there was no way he could pass the class by the end of the year there was a chance he could boost his grade with some hard work and summer school. It wasn’t a conversation she was particularly looking forward to but it had to be done. Her office was dark when she reached it, Mary must have taken Vida to hers. Zelda didn’t mind, she collected what she needed for the weekend and her coat and locked up. Mary was at her desk, looking something up on her laptop and Vida curled in her lap fast asleep. She looked up when Zelda knocked on the door frame.

“Hey.”

“Thank you again for watching her.”

“No need it’s always a pleasure.” Zelda went over to Mary to take Vida. Vida made a little noise but didn’t wake up despite being moved. When Zelda turned to straighten up she saw what Mary was lookin at.

“Why are you looking at movie times?”

“Oh, Vida wanted to go so I was looking at movies for us to possible take her to.”

“Us?”

“Well yeah you said you wanted us to spend more time together and this was something that Vida wanted so I thought it be a good place to start.”

“I know but… the way you said it just took me back.”

“The way I said it? What’s wrong with the way I said it?”

“Nothing. It was just so natural that I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Zelda, can I tell you a secret?” Zelda nodded but her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. “After the football game I did some deep thinking about you and Vida. I knew that any relationship I pursued with you you and Vida came as a packaged deal and I was okay with that. I didn’t enter into this relationship not knowing what I was getting into and if you say you’re ready to take it up a level I’ll be right behind you ready for whatever it is you need from me.” Zelda was speechless. She knew how Mary felt about her and Vida but knowing that Mary was ready to navigate the next part of their relationship it filled her with so much warmth that despite her effort a tear or two escaped her eyes.

“You’re unfair you know that? I already love you you don’t need to keep on giving me reminders why.” Mary smirked and stood up from her desk. She kissed Zelda soundly on the lips being careful of Vida between them.

“I don’t need a reminder why I love you. Shall we?” Zelda nodded and after locking up she and Mary left.

* * *

 

Zelda took Friday off. With her grading finished there was no need for her to come in so she slept in and then enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with her daughter, niece, and Mary. After leaving the school Zelda followed Mary to her house so she could drop off her car and pack what she needed for the weekend. After thinking about it Friday was also the perfect day to take Vida to the movies. Vida smiled and she sat in Mary’s lap as she looked over the possible movies to go to. When she heard the plans Sabrina also wanted in, no one minded and she even helped pick the movie, why they choose Mary Poppins Returns was beyond Zelda. Nevertheless, she agreed to it and the time. The only thing she didn’t like was that the movie was in Riverdale but it couldn’t be helped, Vida really wanted to see the movie and it was only being shown in Riverdale. So after breakfast everyone got ready and then they made their way to Riverdale.

The movie theater wasn’t that crowded, there was no line for the concession stands so Sabrina was in and out in less than five minutes. Though why she needed popcorn so close after breakfast was something Zelda couldn’t wrap her head around. When they took their seats Zelda gave Vida a quick rundown on the common courtesy of the movies, mainly not talking during the movie. Vida understood and she sat in her seat silently but eagerly waiting for the movie to start. And she stayed that way for the whole two hours, silent but when Zelda took quick glances at her daughter she could tell that Vida was enjoying the movie. When it was over Vida wouldn’t stop talking about it, which was fine because she had Sabrina who gushed over the movie with her. Zelda let them chatter on.

“What do you think?” Zelda looked at Mary who walked next to her as Sabrina and Vida walked ahead of them in their own little bubble. Zelda didn’t think twice about taking Mary’s hand, lacing their fingers together. Mary gave her hand a light squeeze and it made her smile.

“I think she liked it. She did better than I expected.” It was true, parents don’t usually expect their four year olds to sit quietly for two plus hours, but then again Vida wasn’t like the average child. This was definitely something to keep in mind to do again. Mary hummed and they both brought their attention back to Vida and Sabrina who were still chattering away.

* * *

 

When they got home Zelda brought Vida upstairs. Vida had fallen asleep sometime during the journey back and Zelda, who never had the heart to wake her daughter when she was sleeping, decided to carry her up the stairs. Zelda laid Vida on her bed, putting the sheet over her daughter’s small body for some warmth but not overheating like the comforter would do. Instead of going downstairs to join Mary and Sabrina for a late lunch Zelda stayed, taking a seat at her vanity. As she watched her daughter sleep Zelda went over in her head what she was going to say to her daughter. This was a conversation that she should of had with Vida a long time ago but if she was serious with Mary being more involved in their lives she wanted to make sure Vida was okay with it. Vida woke up half an hour later and despite having all that time Zelda felt grossly unprepared.

“Vida can I talk to you about something?” While Vida snuggled into her lap when Zelda joined her on the bed when Vida showed the first signs of waking her face clearly showed worry. “It’s nothing bad. At least I hope not.” The worry that left Vida’s face was quickly replaced with confusion.

“I don’t understand mommy.”

“Vida do you remember what I told you about Ambrose.”

“Yes. You said that cousin Ambrose liked boys despite him being a boy as well but it was okay for him to like who he liked and that was the same for me and Sabrina.”

“Very good. Now, what if I told you that mommy was special friends with another woman?”

“You mean like Sabrina and Harvey?”

“Just like Sabrina and Harvey.”

“It be okay I guess… just… what about Mary?”

“What about Mary baby?”

“Would we have to see her less because of your special friend?”

“Hunny, Mary is my special friend.”

“Why didn’t you say so!” Though a little taken back by Vida’s sudden outburst a smile graced Zelda’s face. Zelda realized that pass her worry Vida would take the news well. Vida liked Mary and while there was more things that Zelda would have to explain it could wait for later. Vida’s stomach growled, it cause Vida to blush lightly and Zelda chuckled. “I think someone is ready for lunch.” Zelda held out her hand which Vida took and they went downstairs to join the others.


	13. The One With the Bad Cupid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know it's been a while but here it is! Was it worth the wait? I don't know I'll let you guys decide. Enjoy!

By the first of February all of Baxter high became one big pink, red, white, and heart filled eyesore. Zelda had to grit her teeth and ignore it as best she could unless she goes insane. Hilda and Sabrina didn’t help, they both squealed and whispered in hushed tones like they were telling each other deep dark secrets. The pair of them were acting like teenagers, and while this behavior was perfectly acceptable for Sabrina it wasn’t for Hilda. Zelda looked at her sister like she lost her mind but deep down she recognized that Hilda was happy, the happiest that Zelda has ever seen her. It’s why she didn’t make a big fuss about it but she reserved the right to be annoyed. There was one beacon of hope and that was Mary.

Mary wasn’t very found of Valentines either. Someone, they didn’t know who and they hope they never find out, tapped a large pink heart on Mary’s office door. Mary proceed to rip it off her door then shred the paper heart before throwing it away. Zelda, who bore witness to the display because she needed some more staples and Mary said she had a box she could spare, was, yes taken back, but also amused and a bit relieved. While Zelda could never picture it she didn’t know if Valentine days would turn Mary into a glorified teenager like it did her sister or a sappy romantic like it did to the male gender. Zelda still had nightmares from when Dr. Cerberus showed up at her house with a large bouquet of roses and serenading Hilda with “(Everything I Do) I Do it For You” ruining it for Zelda forever. She never cared for it so it wasn’t a big lost. About a week until Valentine’s it became clear the Hilda was staking a claim to the house. She kept buying things that she attached notes on to not touch and buzzing around the house like a twister, collecting things here and there and stashing them in the conservatory. Zelda just looked on with no interest and immediately texted Mary to make plans. They were under no circumstances celebrating but they came up with a good plan, something nice and casual.

The plan was as followed. On Friday after Zelda picked up her daughter from school would take them to Mary’s house, far away from everyone and everything. The whole thing was going to be laid-back, Zelda wrote a reminder to herself to fill a small suitcase with things like board games, movies, and some books to keep Vida happy. Mary was convinced that they would order in, most likely pizza or chinese which ever struck their fancy. Zelda didn’t know how Mary could think that but after having a heated debate over it during lunch one day Zelda realized Mary was messing with her. While Mary’s answers were perfectly reasonable she wore this grin that was a cross between a smirk and a soft smile. It caused Zelda to stop mid sentence and she shook her head, calling Mary ‘impossibly insufferable’ but she was smiling all the same.

That WAS the plan, until this happened...

* * *

 

On Wednesday Hawthorne called an emergency staff meeting the split second after the dismissal bell finished ringing. Teachers started slowly trickling in, murmuring what was going on and what the meeting could be about. Teachers that were in charge of after school clubs were the last to join, they had to inform their club that they would be late or dismiss the club for that day. Among them was Mary and she looked pissed having been dragged away from her W.I.C.C.A. meeting, she took the seat that Zelda was saving for her with a low rumbling growl. Zelda, knowing how much Mary looked forward to her meetings, placed her hand on Mary’s knee and gave it a light squeeze, it instantly relaxed Mary though her scowl remained. Hawthorne came in when the last staff member squeezed himself between two math teachers.

“Thank you all for coming. You are probably wondering why I called you in such last minute.” Several murmurs could be heard and Mary gave a low growl that vibrated from the back of her throat. “I have gotten an email from the head of the PTA stating concern that they do not have enough volunteers to work the dance this Saturday.” Oh god the dance, Zelda groaned and cringed just thinking about it. The dance was another of Hawthorne’s ‘genius ideas to keep an eye on the rowdy teenagers’ but unlike Halloween this one appeared to be working. Several students bought tickets for the dance, Sabrina and her friends being among them. “Which is why I called you all here today to see if any of you would like to volunteer to work the dance.” There was silence. No one said anything or moved. Hawthorne’s face got redder and redder the longer the silence carried on. After five minutes Hawthrone who was starting to turn purple, huffed. “Very well I’ll volunteer you than.” Hawthorne started calling names, the teachers he called either groaned or sputtered with annoyance. Zelda tensed and squeezed Mary’s knees just a little harder. She hoped against hope the Hawthorne wouldn’t call on her, she worked Halloween so it would only be fair to not call on her. And he didn’t but just as they thought he was over he called one last person. “And Ms. Wardwell. I think that would cover the dance nicely. Meeting adjourned.” Hawthorne quickly left the meeting, most likely to save his own skin as the teaching staff went into an uproar. Mary sat there in a fuming rage. Zelda didn’t blame her nor did she chace after Mary when she abruptly got up and stormed out of the meeting. Zelda knew Mary and knew that Mary needed space to process her anger. Zelda left with the rest of the staff as they started to trickle out.

When Zelda finished her blackboards and her remaining grading for the day she still had five minutes before she normally left so she sat in her office to see if Mary would show. As she waited she sat at her desk deep in thought. Now that their not-Valentine’s plans were blown to bits Zelda had to think of something else to distract Vida and herself from the holiday. Maybe she’ll take her to the movies again, Vida seemed to like it enough to want to do it again. Or maybe a restaurant, that would be a nice treat for the both of them. But the problem with both of those ideas was not only the amount of people but they involved being out on a holiday, one that Zelda particularly hated. She gave up thinking of something five minutes before 4:40, when it was clear that Mary wasn’t going to show. Zelda didn’t mind and she packed up her stuff to leave for the day.

The second that she and Vida got home Zelda got an ear full of how unfair Hawthorne was being from Sabrina. Zelda let her niece carry on as she made dinner, when Sabrina was in ranting mode there was no stopping her and Zelda was too tired to try. It didn’t surprise Zelda that Sabrina knew, when Mary was angry she ranted and when she ranted nothing was held back and Sabrina was one of the few people that Mary could rant with. When they were done with dinner Sabrina and Ambrose were washing the dishes while Zelda helped Vida with her math homework.

“You know Auntie if Mary is going to be miserable at this dance thing why don’t you go and be miserable with her.”

“Ambrose that’s a great idea! Aunt Zelda you should go to the dance with Ms. Wardwell.”

“Before the two fo you lose your heads going to the dance isn’t a possibility.”

“Why not?” Zelda pointed her hand to her daughter who was currently trying as hard as she could to make her 3 as neat as she could.

“Oh.” Sabrina and Ambrose turned back to the dishes and they returned to the comfortable silence as before. By the time Sabrina and Ambrose finished the dishes Vida had completed her math homework and was working on her bear puzzle. That was Mary’s Christmas present to Vida, her very own puzzle that she worked on whenever she could. Zelda watched her from the armchair with a small glass of whisky, smiling softly at her little girl’s face sharp with focus.

“Auntie?” Zelda hummed as Ambrose, being careful of Vida and her puzzle, joined her, taking the armchair next to hers. “What if I watched Vida?”

“I don’t know Ambrose.”

“I know you don’t trust me but I promise I’ll keep a close eye on her.” Zelda took a slow draw of her whisky. She wished she could tell him he was wrong but he wasn’t. Zelda didn’t trust Ambrose with Vida because of something that he had done when he was a child. And he has proven since then that he has learned and grown pass his mistake. She’s trusted Sabrina on less so why can’t she trust him?

“Okay. But Ambrose-”

“I swear Auntie I’ll be on my best behavior and not a hair on head would be harmed.” Zelda glared at him and he, realizing what he said, ran a hand over the back of his head. “Right to far.” Zelda gave a dry chuckle and took another drink. As she continued to watch Vida as she tried to wrap her head around what she was about to. She still couldn’t believe it even as she wrote then sent an email to the person in charge of the dance. She was really doing this and when she pushed ‘send’ there was no turning back.

* * *

 

Today was such a good day! Vida couldn’t think it could get any better. To start, her Auntie Hilda made pancakes. Pancakes on a weekday! It has never happened before and she ate two happily with her face covered in strawberry jam. Vida noted that the pancakes that Aunt Hilda made were heart shaped, she didn’t know why until she arrived at school. Ooooooh, right Valentine’s day! Vida didn’t understand the importance of it completely but she knew that today was the day she could give out the cards she made. She spent a whole week working on them, making them neat and unique taking her time and great care with them. And then something happened about an hour after she arrived at school that blew away Aunt Hilda’s special heart shaped breakfast out the window. Her teacher told her that they would have an early lunch at the high school. She was going to Mommy’s and Sabrina’s school! There was only one thing that could make it better but she decided not to dwell on it.

Along with the rest of her class and teachers Vida walked to the highschool. Her fellow classmates ohhed when they arrived, it occured to Vida that none of her classmates have seen a building so big. Their excitement quickly turned to hesitation with a little touch of fear when they entered the lunchroom. Firstly, the lunchroom, or cafeteria as Sabrina called it, was huge! Their lunchroom was only half this size. And second the high schoolers, there was a lot of them and some of them they had to crane their necks up to see their faces, they were that tall! They kind of reminded Vida of the jolly green giant. Vida was the first to break away from her class, she saw Sabrina and her friends and her teacher said it was okay to join them when she pointed them out.

“Sabrina!” Her cousin paused mid laugh as she turned around to see her running to join her lunch box in hand.

“Hey squirt what are you doing here?” Harvey found a spare chair and he placed it between himself and Sabrina. After setting her lunch box on the table Vida climbed into the plastic seat. She had to sit with her legs under her so she could see over the table. Being short had so many disadvantages.

“My teacher said my class was allowed to have lunch with you guys so she brought us over.”

“That’s so cute.” Said Roz. Vida liked Roz, she was nice and smart and had really cool glasses that she let Vida try on one time. Vida opened her lunch box, she placed her cards inside it to keep them nice. Then she handed them to Sabrina and each of her friends, she had to stretch as far so she could to give her card to Susie. Susie had to meet her a little bit to take the card from her. Everyone said thank you when she gave them her cards and she talked about how she tried to make them unique. For Roz she found as much glasses decorations and drew as many as she could. For Susie she found an outline of a farm and tried her best to make it look like the one that Susie lived on though she doubts that Susie and her dad keep bears. Dr. C helped with Harvey’s, he cut up some old not valuable comic books and he glued the pieces where she wanted them. Her teacher called it a ‘collage’ but she doesn’t know what that means. For Sabrina she shaped her card into a cat, Sabrina liked cats and she ‘awed’ at the red and purple cat with a pink ribbon and uneven misshapen yellow eyes. After fawning over their cards Sabrina and her friends returned to their lunch, something that Vida would do herself but…

“Vida where’s your lunch?” Vida sunk in her chair and clunch her lunch box close to her, she took it back when she finished handing out her cards. She didn’t want to tell her cousin that she could count on one hand how many times she has actually had lunch at school. “Aunt Hilda packs you lunch right?” Vida just nods. She knows that Aunt Hilda makes her lunch. Aunt Hilda makes lunch for everyone and sometimes Vida would help her. “Vida is something wrong?” Sabrina used that soft voice that makes Vida tell her everything, she doesn’t know why or how to stop herself.

“Judas.”

“What?” Vida looks two tables over and Sabrina does the same. A boy, roughly the same age as Vida sat with some kids. He was a little on the pudgy side and was dressed in khaki pants and a crisp red polo. His black hair was slicked back and shiny with some sort of gel or mousse. He turned his head, most likely to talk to the person on his left but it was enough to spook Vida and she quickly turned back around trying to make herself even smaller in her chair. “Vida has he been bothering you?”

“He takes my lunch every day.” Vida didn’t say it any louder than a whisper, fearful that Judas might hear. She remembered the last time that she made Judas mad and she was careful to make sure she didn’t attract his attention. Sabrina looks shocked and a little mad and something settles inside Vida stomach, a bad feeling. Nothing good comes from Sabrina being mad. Sabrina starts to get up from her chair, Vida didn’t know what she was going to do but in a panic Vida yells. “No! Sabrina please don’t make it worse.” Sabrina pauses for a moment but then smiles, her sneaky smile and Vida doesn’t know if that’s better or worse.

“Just trust me.” She winks and hands Vida the last half of her turkey sandwich before walking over to where their teacher was talking. They talked for a minute and the dread that Vida feels, she doesn’t like it. Sabrina returns with a huge smile on her face.

“Wanna see your mom?” And just like that Judas is the last thing on her mind.

“Mommy!” Vida takes Sabrina’s hand and they say goodbye to Sabrina’s friends as they leave the cafeteria. It was a good walk from the cafeteria to Mommy’s office, Vida has never been there before but Sabrina knew where to take her, where to turn and what hallways to walk down and what door to knock on when they reach it. There was a pause before Sabrina opened the door.

“Aunt Zelda I have a surprise for you.”

“What is it Sabrina?” Sabrina moved more into the room so that she could enter.

“Mommy!” Vida ran into her mother’s office. Her mom was sitting behind her desk and her face showed a combination of shock and joy at seeing her in her office. Vida ran straight to her and Zelda scooped her up, hugging her close and kissing her cheek.

“Vida. What are you doing here?”

“Her class is having lunch at the cafeteria. I asked her teacher if it was okay to bring her to you and she said it was okay so long as I bring her back at the end of lunch.” Vida pouted into her mother’s shoulder. She didn’t have much time with her mom and she had to go back to school after. So unfair!

“Well then, you better make your time count baby bear.” Vida lifted her head from the soft warmth of her mother’s shoulder to see Mary sitting in a seat across from her mother with her feet on the edge of the desk. She winks at Vida when she noticed her looking at her.

“I made cards!” Vida pulled out two of her four remaining cards. One was for Ambrose and the other for Aunt Hilda and Dr. C, she made them one big card that she left at school because it was too big to fit in her lunch box. She held out Mary’s card and Mary had to get up from her seat when it became clear that Vida wasn’t going to leave Zelda’s lap until she was forced to. Mary took the card with a smirk and a raspberry to her cheek. Mary’s card was shaped like a kite, she made it out of green construction paper and the blue yarn that she made the tail from had letters tied to it that spelled ‘WICCA’. Zelda’s card was in the shape of a house, it looked like a combination of their own house and Vida trying to replicate the Addams Family house. Inside was in stick figure forms Vida, Zelda, and Mary in Vida’s best attempts at drawing them as the Addams Family characters they were at halloween.

“Thank you Vida I love it.” Vida beamed as Zelda kissed her cheek and gave her another tight hug. From there Vida told her mother about making her cards and the pancakes that Aunt Hilda made. All too soon Sabrina said she had to take her back, Vida pouted but hugged her mother and Mary goodbye. Sabrina returned her to her teacher and the rest of her classmates just as the bell rang, Sabrina waved goodbye before leaving. As they walked back to her own school Vida couldn’t help the big smile on her face. Definitely the best day ever!

* * *

 

Zelda spent the first half of Saturday making sure that the preparations she made for that night were set and the second half getting ready for the dance. She ignored Hilda who seemed to be going for some recond on how many things she could make heart shaped. When she left at 5 Hilda and Dr. C were holed away in the conservatory and Ambrose and Vida were in the parlor watching a movie. Vida’s Mary Poppins obsession was still going strong and Zelda kissed her goodbye during ‘Jolly Holiday with Mary’.

By the time that Zelda got to the school the dance was in full swing. The space that wasn’t being used for the refreshments and tables for people to rest at that lined the wall was taken up by dancing teenagers. The whole gym was packed to the brim with large pink and red heart shaped decorations, streamers, and balloons, one popped under her heel attracting the people closest to her. Lights and the music made it hard to take in anything not in three feet which was why she didn’t see Sabrina and her friends come up to her until they were right in front of her.

“Aunt Zelda you made it!” Sabrina’s friends murmured a greeting to her, she still intimidated them but that was okay by her. “Last I saw Ms. Wardwell she was sulking by the punch bowl.” Sabrina indicated over her shoulder to the corner across the gym, it was a quite dark corner with not that much foot traffic, it was perfect for Mary.

“Thank you Sabrina. Enjoy yourself but be smart, understood?” Zelda gave her niece a sharp look and Sabrina bristled a little.

“Understood Auntie.” And just like that Sabrina and her friends left to be lost in a sea of dancing bodies. Zelda didn’t waste any time making her way over to Mary. Mary was sulking in a corner with a glare that clearly spoke not to bother her but Zelda dared. She didn’t hesitate to join Mary and the second that she was in visible eyesight Mary’s scowl changed to a look of shock.

“What are you doing here?”

“Being miserable with you.”

“You know out of context someone could take that the wrong way.”

“And do you know that I don’t technically have to be here and could leave at any moment?”

“You wouldn’t dare. You’re not that cruel.”

“Oh?” Zelda rose and eyebrow and smirked. She took two teasing steps backward to make it seem like she was serious about leaving. Before she could take another step Mary growled and pounced wrapping her arms around her waist to bring her back and close against Mary. In the very back of her mind Zelda realized that this was inappropriate that they, two teachers, shouldn’t be pressed against each other the way they were when surrounded by their students. But they weren’t working, not officially, and there was nothing wrong with them, two consenting adults, being together. It was a romance holiday for crying out loud, it meant that she was allowed this, to be with Mary. Doubt would imply that she cared about strangers opinion and that was the furthest thing from the truth. Zelda only cared about her own opinion and Vida’s. That’s why she didn’t care who saw as she started to slowly kiss Mary and Mary slowly kissing her back. There were a few wolf whistles but the second they glared at the small crowd watching them they scrambled away. They weren’t bothered again for the rest of the night and when the dance was over Zelda went home with Mary.

* * *

 

When Zelda came into work the following Monday she and Mary were the number one topic of discussion by the students. Zelda was constantly picking up whispered conversations when she walked the halls. She ignored it at first, gossip was beneath her and uninteresting, but when her class starts whispering every time she turns her back she had enough.

“Is there something you all would like to say?” Her second period Russian class paled and a few students even sank into their seats. “Very well then you all are prepared for the test-”

“It’s about you and Ms. Wardell!” A girl, one of her few juniors spoke out in a rush that took Zelda back. Katie was always so soft spoken.

“What about me and Ms. Wardwell?”

“There are rumors that… the two of you… are… well… dating.”

“And?”

“We just wanted to know if it was true.”

“What Ms. Wardwell and I do in our spare time is our own business and what we do is no concern to you.”

“But-”

“But nothing. Do I pry into your life? No, I’m here to teach, you’re here to learn. If you want to engage in gossip I suggest you go elsewhere. Now if that’s all I would like to continue.” Her class fell silent and they continued class without further interruption.

* * *

 

“It appears that we are ‘out of the closet’.”

“I beg your pardon?” Zelda looked at Mary confused, she wasn’t familiar with that expression or how it applied to her and Mary. When Mary joined her for lunch like normal she didn’t say anything, just took her usual seat with a kiss to Zelda’s head and started to eat her lunch. Mary lifted her lunch tray and handed Zelda a single piece of paper. It was a print out of the school blog with a headline big and bold that said ‘ _Ms. Spellman and Ms. Wardwell: just friends or more?_ ’ along with a picture of them at the dance. Someone had taken a picture of the when they were at the punch bowl, they were holding hands. Zelda placed the paper down and looked at Mary, she shrugged her shoulders as to say ‘so’.

“You’re not bothered.” It was said as a statement not a question and Zelda looked Mary dead in the eye to say.

“No. Are you?”

“Not at all.”

“Good.” Mary smirked and when lunch was over she kissed Zelda’s cheek goodbye. So that was that, they were ‘out’ as Mary called it. Zelda oddly didn’t care, her relationship with Mary didn’t change and she would be damned if she let anyone change it.


	14. The One Where Paris isn't the City of Romance pt. 1 side A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I decided to break this one chapter into multiple parts. I don't know how many but I do know that this chapter will have at least one other part and there will be a part completely focused on Mary and Vida, hence why there will be side A (Zelda) and side B (Mary and Vida).
> 
> Also if anyone is interested to know me I did a music challenge and the link is right here if you want to view it. It's okay if you don't want to. Enjoy!  
> https://urdbell18.tumblr.com/post/186279373166/playlist-shuffle-meme

By the time spring break rolled around Zelda’s relationship status with Mary was the last thing on anyone’s mind. It was still brought up every once in a while but when it became clear after a week of Zelda and Mary refusing to answer questions and there forth nothing new to talk about it all went away. Well, not completely. To every situation there is a good or a bad that come from it. The good that came out of their ‘outing’ was the security that students might feel to tell them something personal. Students like Susie… no, Theo.

One day during lunch Susie… Theo came into Zelda’s office and asked if he could talk to them about something. Mary and Zelda agreed and after five minutes of him trying to find his words Theo, formally Susie, came out about his gender change. And though Theo looked like he was in pain as he waited for their response Zelda and Mary didn’t bat an eye. They thanked Theo for telling them, Zelda even called him Mr. Putnam and it caused him to flush in happiness. At the end of the week Mary and the members of W.I.C.C.A. threw Theo a gender reveal party complete with blue balloons and a cake that said ‘it’s a boy!’

The bad was Hawthorne. One day he called them into his office after school ended for a quick discussion. They showed up but both Zelda and Mary showed their clear disdain for being there. They knew what Hawthorne wanted to discuss and they both frankly didn’t want to hear what he had to say. They weren’t doing anything wrong, and they didn’t want to hear his opinion on them and their relationship. As they sat there waiting for Hawthorne to join them, he was late and that just irked Zelda even more, Mary got a glint in her eye. Zelda, who knew that glint meant nothing but trouble, told Mary she wanted no part in whatever Mary was thinking. Mary just smirked and said to trust her and her brilliant evil plan. Zelda sighed and against her better judgment agreed. Mary asked for her hand and after thinking about it for fifteen seconds gave her left hand to Mary. Mary took Zelda’s hand into her own and just held it. That was it, Mary just cradle her hand in hers, lacing their fingers together and occasionally running her thumb against her palm. Zelda was shocked for only a second before she smiled and gave a slight squeeze to Mary’s hand. When Hawthorne finally joined them he looked at their linked hands, his face turned white and he sputtered saying he would have to talk to them at a later date. Zelda and Mary shared a raised eyebrow but didn’t waste time in leaving, hands still linked together.

As the weeks pass Hawthorne didn’t call them to reschedule their ‘discussion’. Zelda and Mary didn’t know why but they did agree that whenever they saw Hawthorne, even if it was for a second, that he looked distracted. They didn’t know what could be the cause but they both took it as a blessing and did whatever they could to make sure not to remind Hawthorne that he still hasn’t talked to them. However, that doesn’t mean they went into hiding. They still did the same things that they always did like spending the morning in one of their offices together, spending lunch together, and at the end of every day Mary would walk Zelda to her car. They weren’t being overly showy like kissing or touching excessively but they would when school wasn’t in session hold hands whenever they walked together. Before they knew it spring break was upon them and everyone was looking forward to the upcoming break. Because it was the last week leading up to a new quarter, the last one of the school year, they of course had a staff meeting. The staff meeting was straight forward; graduation, testing, and end of year plan was discussed without any big uproar. When the meeting was over Hawthorne called out to Zelda, asking her to hang back. Zelda agreed and sent Mary away, she knew that Mary would stay behind, lingering just outside the doorway, but Zelda said she was fine and go.

“What can I do for you Mr. Hawthorne?”

“Well, you see…” What he said made Zelda’s jaw drop.

* * *

 

“You’re going where!?” Sabrina was the first to say something. That night was a rare thing for them, they were able to have dinner together, all five of them. Hilda didn’t have to work that night so when Zelda and Vida came home she was already in the kitchen making dinner. Ambrose also decided to stay home, he came down from his room when they called dinner. With her whole family in the same room Zelda bit the bullet and told them what Hawthorne asked of her.

“I told you Sabrina Paris as in Paris France.”

“I know but… why?”

“I don’t know all the details myself but I know that Hawthorne is loaning me out to another school to act as a faculty chaperone for a trip that is taking place over spring break.”

“And you couldn’t say no?” Zelda just shot her niece a look that said it all. Sabrina nodded in understanding. “Right, it’s Hawthorne stupid question.” It fell silent and everyone returned to eating.

“Mommy can I have more spaghetti?” Vida pushed out her bowl and smiled at Zelda, her face was covered in tomato sauce. Zelda took her daughters bowl and put a little more pasta into it along with a single meatball.

“This is your last one I don’t want you getting sick.” Zelda wasn’t sure Vida heard her as she dove into her third bowl of spaghetti that evening. Zelda watched her daughter slightly concerned. Vida wasn’t a big eater, she was never overly fussy or picky but inhaling food like she was now, she’s never done that.

“Um Zelds?” Zelda pulled her attention from her daughter to her sister. Hilda wore a small tight smile that she only wore when she’s going to say something and she thinks Zelda is going to react badly. “We have a slight problem. Not a big problem but it’s still a problem and-”

“For god's sake Hilda spit it out.”

“I’m going on holiday with Dr. C while you are away.” Hilda jumped and gave a little squeak when Zelda without warning slammed her fork down onto her plate. She had completely forgotten about Hilda going away with Dr. C, it was only for three days but those three days fell right in the center of Zelda’s trip. It meant that there was no one to watch Vida. She was screwed.

* * *

 

When Zelda went to talk to Hawthorne the following day to ask if it was absolutely necessary for her to go to Paris Hawthorne went white, then red like he was choking on something. Zelda instantly regretted asking him then he made her mad by telling her that if she backed out of this trip she’d be doing this school a huge dishonor. But that’s not what made her mad, that was caused by him saying that by her doing this trip he would ignore her relationship with Mary but if she didn’t one of them would have to go. He didn’t say fire but that’s the message that Zelda got and she let the lissue go. Now she was back to square one with her being stuck on this trip and no one to watch Vida. She could take Vida with her but when she looked up the cost to get her daughter a passport and plane ticket, on a flight that she wasn’t even sure she was on, she paled. She didn’t have that kind of money.

“Something’s on your mind.” Mary came into her office, coffee mug in her hand and papers that needed marking under her arm.

“Hawthorne’s making me go to Paris.”

“Paris as in-”

“Yes Paris France.”

“Why?”

“Something about a school needing an extra faculty staff member and me apparently being the only one who’s qualified and available to go.”

“But that’s not what’s bothering you.”

“No. Hilda told me last night that she is going away with the vampire for three days in the middle of when I’m away so now there is no one that I feel comfortable leaving with Vida for long periods of time available.”

“What about me? You know I don’t mind watching her.”

“I know but… this isn’t over night. I would be asking you to watch her for three to four nights and it’s a lot. I couldn’t burden you with that kind of responsibility.”

“What if I want to be burden?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I love Vida and I’ve memorized her routen enough to take over for a few days. I’m ready to take on the challenge.” Zelda sat in her seat speechless. She and Mary have been together for the last few months and yet this emotion of Mary wanting to be more involved, to step up, it always got to Zelda.

“Okay.” Mary smiled and leaned over Zelda’s desk to give a quick kiss to Zelda’s lips. Zelda returned it but being aware of where they were broke apart and returned to their work.

* * *

 

Zelda spent the week leading up to spring break getting ready for her trip. After almost badgering Hawthorne he finally sent her the details for the trip. She now knew what flight she was on, what time she was leaving and arriving back, how long she was going to be away, and where she was staying. This was all important information that she could give to her family, especially her daughter. This was the first time that Zelda was leaving for a long period of time where she wasn’t taking Vida and she was going out of the country. An ocean was going to seperate them and Zelda didn’t know how she felt being so far away from her baby. Vida appeared to be taking it better than she was, she understood how long Zelda was going to be away and for how long. She was excited to be staying with Mary and she helped Zelda pack the small suitcase that was for her stay with Mary. It sat in the parlor by the door along with Zelda’s luggage so it was ready to go.

In the midst of packing and preparing to go overseas one thing still nagged at Zelda. She was never given the name of the school that she was joining and Hawthorne wouldn’t tell her. It was… concerning but Zelda had other things to worry about. Zelda was scheduled to leave Friday, her flight was at five which meant she had time to go home, change, say goodbye to her family, and arrive at the airport a good hour before her flight. However, that week before spring break was quarterly testing which meant she had six period of tests to grade and enter into the computer before the deadline. That meant Zelda was kept longer at the school so she could finish her grading. Mary was the biggest of help, she graded the multiple choice part while Zelda graded the written answers. On Thursday she had a plan, she was going to submit the tests that she had finished grading, which was periods 2, 3, and 6, her Russian, Italian, and Chinese classes and the grading that she had finished for her other classes. That way on Friday all she had to do was focus on her first period French 3 classes essays and the remaining tests from periods 4 and 5 which were mostly multiple choice. She was organizing the final details when the phone in her office rang. Zelda groaned hoping it wasn’t Hawthorne wanting something but when she answered Mrs. Meeks said she had a message from her daughter's school. There’s been an incident.

* * *

 

Zelda arrived at her daughter’s school slightly out of breath. In a panic she forgoed her car and powered walked to the school thinking it would get her there faster. When she arrived her daughter’s teacher immediately ushered her to the nurse's office where Vida was. Zelda almost broke down when she saw her daughter. Vida was curled on one of the beds with Oso pressed close to her and her cheeks were red from crying. There was an ice pack on her daughter’s knee, the spot was red and pale the way a new bruise would come in. Vida looked up when she heard Zelda come in and it brought new tears to her eyes.

“Mommy!” In two quick strides Zelda was by her daughter scooping her up so Vida was crying into her shoulder. Zelda shh’d and rocked her daughter, rubbing a hand up and down her daughter’s back. After a few minutes Vida calmed down and Zelda gently pulled her away, not a lot just enough so her daughter’s face wasn’t being smothered in her shoulder.

“Vida what happened? Your teacher said someone hit you.” The first few times Vida tried to open her mouth nothing but hiccups cam out. The nurse handed Zelda a plastic cup with water and Zelda held it to coax her daughter into drinking. After a few sips Vida found her voice.

“Judas hit me with a chair!”

“What?!” Zelda looked to Vida’s teacher completely shocked and horrified that another child would harm hers.

“It was a hollow plastic chair and the nurse looked her over, she confirmed that nothing was broken. But we do need to know why Judas hit you Vida.”

“He took Oso!”

“Oso?”

“Her bear.”

“How did you know he took your bear?”

“Because I saw him! Just like I see him take my lunch every day.”

“What do you mean he takes your lunch everyday?” Vida gave a faint squeak and scotted slightly away from Zelda. She never liked it when her mother was mad. “Vida why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because! Judas pushed me when I told Ms. Green the first time. I just want him to leave me alone.” New tears stung Vida’s eyes and she buried her face into Zelda’s shoulder again. There was a pause and Zelda took the time to look after her daughter. Vida’s behavior last night now made sense. Hilda always made enough food to feed an army unlike Zelda who cooked just enough. With so much food it allowed Vida to compensate for not eating lunch. After a few minutes Zelda wonder if she should ask one of the other teachers if she could take her daughter home but that was when the nurse came by and told her that the principle and Vida’s teacher would like to speak to her in private. It took some prying but Zelda was able to detach herself from her daughter, promising she would be right back and that they would go home soon. Zelda didn’t have to go far, both the principle and Vida’s teacher were right outside the nurse’s office.

“Ms. Spellman.” The principal, Mrs. Mcguire, introduced herself and offered her hand for Zelda to shake, Zelda took it. “I talked to Judas when his mother finally arrived and by what Ms. Green has told me from what Vida has said and what she and her student teachers have observed I was able to piece together what has happened. Roughly when school started Judas started to take a part of Vida’s lunch, something about a ‘special treat’?”

“My sister Hilda must have been packing something extra in her lunch.”

“I see. Over time it escalated to Judas taking all of Vida’s lunch. When it happened the first time Vida did tell Ms. Green because the incident is dated in Judas’ file. The reason it wasn’t made a big deal of is because of the children's age they are prone to pushing and since Vida wasn’t seriously injured he was given the appropriate punishment by the school rules. Now today what happened was that when Judas attempted to take Vida’s lunch he didn’t find everything that he wanted which caused him to take the bear that was in Vida’s backpack. Because today was show-in-tell Judas showed the bear as his own and Vida in anger tried to take the bear back. From what Judas has told me Vida pushed him and then tried to run away with the bear which was when he hit her with the chair. When Judas tried to take the bear again Vida kicked him and that was when Ms. Green and one of the student teachers were able to seperate them and here we are.”

“So what now?”

“Our school has a no tolerance policy on physical violence however I recognize that Vida wasn’t the main aggressor. Because today is the second to last day before break I am suspending both Vida and Judas tomorrow, however Judas will remain suspended when we resume the following Tuesday and would not be able to return until the following week. The policy is actually ten days but given his age and being so close to the end of the school year I’m shortening the suspension slightly.”

“And what are you going to do to prevent something like this to happen again?”

“Had Vida brought more attention to the issue we would have moved either her or Judas to another class but with it being so late Ms. Green and I are going to work on a plan on how to keep the two of them separate. As for the lunch issue I’m going to work on a plan that would stop the food theft and that will go into effect when we reassume after spring break. Do you have any questions for either of us Ms. Spellman?”

“At the moment no but I will keep a close eye to make sure nothing else happens to my daughter.”

“I understand completely. When Vida is ready you can take her home and thank you for coming when you did Ms. Spellman.” Zelda and Ms. Mcguire shook hands one last time before she left. Ms. Green offered Zelda a small smile before walking away to return to her class. She probably thought Zelda was going to yell at her, and she wasn’t wrong, but Zelda was too focused on her daughter. Vida was more than eager to leave, she had her coat and backpack on before Zelda could step foot back into the nurse’s office. She still held Oso and Zelda didn’t really blame her. They started walking back to the high school, all of Zelda’s things were in her office, but half way up to the corner of the street Zelda heard someone call her name. It was Constance Blackwood, Zelda hasn’t seen her in years and trailing behind the other woman was a boy. Zelda paled, Vida’s bully was Faustus son.

“Constance. It's been a while.”

“It has. I just wanted to apologize for my son. I don’t know why he acted out the way he did. Apologize to Vida Judas.” Judas had a scowl on his face as he stepped out a bit more from behind his mother. Vida moved closer to Zelda clenching Oso even tighter to her, she didn’t want her bear taken again.

“Sorry.” Judas said in a huff. Vida just whimpered and hid her face in Zelda’s side. Zelda wasn’t going to force Vida to interact with Judas, she was scared and needed time to process away from Judas.

“We should go.” Zelda turned to walk away but Constance again stopped her.

“Zelda I also wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me?”

“Yes. My husband said you would be taking my place on the Paris trip. Like an idiot I promised my sister that I would visit her over the holiday. I was going to cancel but Faustus said he was able to get a replacement. I hope you have a good time.” Constance said goodbye and turn to leave, leaving Zelda in her frozen state of shock. She was going

* * *

with Gehenna Academy, with Faustus overseas for almost a week. A hard cold feeling settled in the pit of her stomach and now she was even less keen on going to Paris.

Zelda spent the time leading up to leaving for the airport in a cold dread. She woke up that morning with a large jagged rock in her stomach that made eating anything impossible. She tried but everytime she brought anything up to her mouth her throat would tighten to a point that she felt like she couldn’t breath. She kept her feelings from her family, especially her daughter. Zelda wanted her leaving to be smooth, if she let on that something was wrong than Vida would worry, which would cause Zelda to worry and it would be a down whirl spiral from there.

Since she lost some valuable time on Thursday Zelda placed her suitcase and her carry on bag in the car when she left for work that day. She would now have to leave for the airport from the school so she stuffed a change of clothes in her purse that she would change into right before she was set to leave. Because of this shift she arranged it with Hilda to meet her at the school so that she could say goodbye to her family closer to when she was going to go. While the remainder of her classes completed their examinations she focused on her French 3 essays, they were the most difficult things to grade and the more she completed the more time she had to complete and then input the remainder of her grades. Her goal was to finish before three so she had enough time to change and get to the airport with enough time despite traffic. She would need a miracle to finish on time.

That morning Zelda texted Mary to not join her for lunch that day. She was going to skip lunch so she could finish her grading and have enough of it done so at the end of the day all she had to do was enter her grades and submit her tests with Mrs. Meeks. It would all go a lot faster if Mary wasn’t there. Mary was a distraction that she couldn’t have. As her second period was leaving she felt a buzz from her left pocket, it was her phone which she kept on her in case Hilda, who was watching Vida, needed something. It was Mary and it simply said ‘ _you didn’t see me note_ ’. Zelda looked at the text with a look of confusion, eyebrows scrunched together and a slight frown. What does that mean? Zelda weighed that she couldn’t think about it, she needed to concentrate on her grading and switched out the movie for third period class. At lunch she went to her office to write down the grading that she had completed in her grade book. When she opened the upper right hand drawer she noticed a sticky note on top of one of the folders that held her test for one of her classes. She picked it up and after she read it smiled, now Mary’s text made sense. According to Mary’s note she figured something major happened if it caused her to leave without warning or tiding because she knew Zelda and Zelda couldn’t stand disorder. So she graded the scantrons like she was doing and with Zelda’s answer keys graded the fill in the blank parts of the test. It meant that two thirds of her grading was now done and Zelda couldn’t say how grateful she was. More ahead than she thought Zelda decided to join Mary for lunch.

Mary was in her office, she was at her desk where an empty lunch tray sat in the corner. Mary was leaned back in her chair, feet on her desk, her eyes scanned over a book that was in her lap and a pen cap was in her teeth while the pen twirled between her fingers. Zelda, after taking a minute just to admire Mary, knocked on the door frame. Mary looked up and after removing the pen cap from her lips smirked up at her.

“You finally got my note.” Mary stood up from her chair placing her book and pen on her desk.

“I did and I can’t thank you enough.” Zelda quickly made her way over to Mary, stopping Mary before she could completely round the desk. Zelda kissed Mary soundly, Mary gave off either a gasp or a moan, Zelda couldn’t tell but the sound sent a nice soft buzz to her lips. Mary kissed her back just as passionately before pulling back with a smirk.

“That’s a thank you I can get used to.” Zelda just smiled and took a seat in one of Mary’s spare chairs. Mary didn’t return to her desk chair, instead she sat on the edge of her desk, close to Zelda so that their knees were touching. “Is everything okay?” Zelda contemplated for a minute what her response would be. She could say everything was fine, lie and say what took her away yesterday wasn’t an emergency but Mary knew her too well. And did she want to base their relationships on lies? No, she didn’t. Especially not about this.

“I don’t know.” Mary brought her hand to cover the one that Zelda had placed on her thigh. “I found out that not only does my daughter have a bully but said bully is Faustus’ son and I’ll be spending a week in Paris with him.” Mary was silent for a while. Behind her grey blue eyes Zelda saw flickers of light that meant thoughts were going through Mary’s head.

“Is Vida okay?”

“She’s fine. The boy hit her with a chair and she has a nasty bruise on her knee but physically she’s fine. Emotionally I don’t know. She had to deal with this boy who has been stealing her food for months try to take her bear on top of me leaving overseas for a week. I wish I could spend more time with her before I have to leave but I have to leave for the airport from here.”

“Vida aside do you think you would be okay with this Blackwood guy going?”

“I would have to be. I made a promise to myself that I would only move forward and any relationship with Faustus would only be going back.” Mary nodded but her eyes had a slight clouded look, she was worried about something but before Zelda could ask the bell rang ending lunch. Zelda got up and with a kiss on Mary cheek left.

Mary stayed where she was, deep in thought. She had to come up with something that would help both Zelda and Vida. Just as she was about to run out time she came up with a perfect plan. With one quick phone call the plan was placed into action.

* * *

 

Spring was coming early to Greendale. Hilda looked at the weather and nodded in approval, very rarely would the conditions outside be so pleasant during this time of year. She takes what mother nature gave her and worked with it. Because it was so nice she decided to start working on her outdoor garden. It was protected for the winter but with the temperature mild and the ground workable she decided to start her spring preparations early. Plus it was a great distraction for Vida.

The poor dear was in a funk all morning, she barely touched her breakfast and Oso never left her side. Hild couldn’t tell if Vida was sad about her mom leaving or what happened with Judas. Extracting any kind of information from Vida was like pulling teeth and when she was hurt forget it, she was too much like her mother most days. Zelda told her everything and Hilda couldn’t help but think she had a hand in it. She all so felt a little stupid. She remembered a time months ago that Vida had asked her to pack her an extra ‘special treat’ in her lunch. Hilda thought she made a friend and without a second thought enthusiastically agreed. She realized now that Vida was trying to solve the issue by herself but when it didn’t work she stopped asking for the extra treat. In the back of her mind Hilda meant to mention it to Zelda or talk to Vida about it but the holidays hit and her attention was pulled elsewear. So to make it up to her niece Hilda brought her out to the garden where the dirt that she loved was and her need to help people took over. Dawning her rain boots and Oso safely in a basket off to the side Vida helped Hilda build rows and plot sections for her Aunts future harvest. When they came in for lunch (Hilda was pleased that Vida ate the whole thing) the phone rang.

“This is the Spellmans Hilda speaking.”

“Hilda it’s Mary. I don’t have much time I have to get to my next class but I need you to do something for me.”

“Okay?”

“How soon can you get to the school?”

“Well, Zelda has the car and by walking Baxter high is about half an hour away, forty five minutes with Vida. Why?”

“I was hoping you can come early so Zelda and Vida could spend as much time as they can also I need you to bring something without Zelda knowing.”

“Oh Mary I don’t know Zelda doesn’t like surprises.”

“I understand but in the off chance she doesn’t like it, which I doubt, I’ll take the heat. Now here’s what I need.” Hilda nodded along as she listened. She still wasn’t sure what Mary had planned but agreed to it and after letting Vida sleep for half an hour and changing her in clean clothes they set off to the school.

* * *

 

Zelda took a deep breath to try to relax herself. The final dismissal bell had just sounded and students who were eager to start their break left. With it now being a little after two it meant that Zelda had roughly two hours to finish her grading and submit her results into the computer. She could accomplish more if she wasn’t stressed hence why she was trying to relax herself as she made her way to her office. She had finished her French 3 essays so all that was left for them was to submit them into her book and with Mary finishing her scantron and fill in the blanks for Italian and Russian (not Chinese but Zelda didn’t blame her and she would double check Russian) she could hopefully finish before Hilda came with her daughter. Sabrina came by and Zelda let her enter the grades that she already completed. She had just finished her Spanish class test when there was a rhythmic knock on her door. In a panic she checked her watch but it was only two forty she had more time, Hilda was early but Zelda let her in.

“Hi! I know I’m early but I thought you might want to see this little one.” Vida ran out from behind Hilda and Zelda took her into her arms. Vida didn’t say anything and it concerned Zelda for a moment but she just brushed it off as Vida being tired. Zelda completed her grading a little after three, Mary did a really good job with the fill in the blank parts so there was little to re correct. Next was entering in the grades into the computer and since the computers were in the office she brought her test in a sealed envelope to the office. Vida had to stay in her office while she did it so she trusted her with Sabrina and Hilda.

It took a little over half an hour to submit all of her grades, a record for her, so she left the office a little proud of herself that she made all of her goals. She stopped dead in her tracks just outside the office when she saw Mary standing there with her purse in her hand. Zelda rose an eyebrow but Mary just lead her to one of the staff bathrooms and handed her purse so she could change. Zelda changed into the dark jeans and her Madeline t-shirt that she stuff in there, her sneakers were in the car and she would change into those later. As she was fixing her hair into a ponytail she saw out of the corner of her eye Mary as she gingerly leaned against a wall. Zelda didn’t give it much thought, this was Mary and Mary was known to lean against walls like she owned them. So she didn’t register that Mary had moved until she felt someone, felt Mary, press against her back trapping her against the basins of sinks. Zelda, not knowing what Mary was doing or why, was going to ask for an explanation but Mary’s lips on the base of her neck made whatever protest she was going to say die. Through the mirror Zelda saw Mary’s head as it moved from the base to the side of her neck, her lips never left her skin and it filled Zelda with a nice warm feeling. Zelda released a drowned out moan that could be mistaken for a sigh as she closed her eyes and leaned against Mary. The warm feeling was soothing and she was soaking it up until a sharp sting snapped her back into reality. She opened her eyes in time to see Mary’s teeth sink into her skin where her shoulder and her neck met. The spot was soothed by Mary’s tongue but when she moved away the area was flushed pink and Zelda had little doubt that a bruise would form. Meaning…

“You gave me a hickey!? What on earth possessed you to do such a thing!?”

“I want him to know. I want him to know what he gave up and that you moved on to someone who isn’t afraid to tell the world that you are their’s. That little bruise would speak louder than any words will and I’m sure you will find him squirming in jealousy entertaining and enjoyable.” Zelda, after she got over her anger about the hickey, thought about it and smiled. Mray was right and she couldn’t wait to see the look on Faustus’ face when he finds out that Zelda wasn’t only happy but she was thriving without him.

* * *

 

Zelda arriving at the airport was bitter sweet. Her whole family minus Ambrose came with her to send her off. Ambrose proadly gave up his spot in the car so Mary could go. Zelda hugged him goodbye and he sent them off with a wave and wishes of safe travel. She made it with plenty of time to spare and after checking in at the appropriate places she and her family made it to her gate. Though she had been away from the academy for a couple of years Zelda still recognized the staff and a few of the students who were waiting at the gate. At the head of the pack was Faustus, he scanned over the area to make sure that all his students and staff were there. When he saw her he just nodded and checked something on his list. After a while he started to say something and the students lined up in a line. Boarding had begun.

“I have to go.” That’s when Vida started to cry. It was out of the blue and muffled as she smothered her face into the back of Oso’s head. Zelda’s heart broke into a million pieces and after letting go of her carry on picked up her daughter. “It’s okay sweetie Mommy will be back before you know it. While I’m gone I want you to have fun with Mary and Sabrina and Ambrose and your Auntie Hilda. And when I get back I want you to tell me everything. Think you can do that for me baby?” Vida shook her head but Zelda knew she heard her and would do her best. After a few minutes of Zelda hugging her daughter and placing a kiss on her cheek she handed Vida to Mary. Zelda had to pry her daughter off and that just pained her even more. She hates that she was leaving her daughter. She hates that Hawthorne is making her do this. But she swallowed her sadness, hugged her family, and kissed Mary goodbye. At the edge of the hanger she looked over her shoulder and gave one last wave to her family.

“Bye Aunt Zelda!”

“See you soon!”

“Have a good trip!”

On the plane Zelda noted that the staff and students of the academy where all together which wasn’t surprising if the tickets were purchased together. There was one last seat, a window seat that was next to Faustus and his deputy head. Zelda half cringed but she placed her carry on in the overhead bin and took the seat.

“Zelda.”

“Faustus.” He handed her a folder which she took though confused.

“Your itinerary and list of students in your group.” She thanked him and placed the folder in the pouch in front of her seat, she can review it during the flight, when her focus wasn’t on her daughter. She decided to look out the window hoping something outside would distract her. Next to her Faustus stiffened and she looked at him to determine what caused him to sit in his seat as though he was a statue. That’s when she noticed his attention was on her neck and she fought the smirk that threatened to escape. He quickly looked away and pretended he wasn’t staring at her but the damage was already done. Mary was right it was satisfying.

* * *

 

After Zelda boarded her flight Hilda and Sabrina decided to head back to the car but Mary stayed. She took Vida to the large window and with a little coaxing she was able to get Vida to look out.

“Look Vida. The airplane is going to take your Mommy to Paris and we are going to send it off with as much love as we can so Mommy knows we love her. You can do that right?” Vida looked at her with her watery eyes. She still looked sad at the fact of losing her mom but a small part of her looked insulted that Mary would talk to her like a baby. It was her old self poking out and it made Mary smile. Regardless, Vida looked out the window and when the plane started to move to take off into the darkened sky she waved goodbye and said she loved her mom. Mary did the same and when they could no longer see the plane they left.

“Mary?”

“Yes baby?”

“Mommy will come back right?”

“Of course. Nothing could keep her away from you. Come hell or high water she’ll come back.”

“Sabrina’s parents didn’t come back. I don’t want what happened to them to happen to Mommy.” The realization stopped Mary cold. This was why Vida was so upset. Yes, a part of it might be because she was being separated from her mother for longer than she was used to but that didn’t even compared to the real fear. Vida feared losing her mother like Sabrina lost her parents, it was any childs greatest fear just like it was the parents.

“Vida, what happened to Sabrina’s parents was a tragedy yes but it’s a tragedy that a lot of people try to prevent. I’m not going to lie and say it can’t happen but I have faith that Zelda will come back. So as long as you remember that it’s going to be okay. Okay?” Vida looked down as she thought, clenching Oso tight to her body. After a while Vida whispered ‘okay’ and they continued on.

When they made it to the car Vida buried her face in Oso’s furry head and she took in the subtle smell of her mother’s perfume. It made her sad again, she already missed her mom, but she remembered what Mary and her mom had said. She will have faith that her mom will come back and she will do her best to be happy and make good memories to tell her mother. She can do it! Oso agreed as well and Vida had her mission for the next week.


	15. The One Where Paris isn't the City of Romance pt. 2 side A

Zelda arrived at Charles de Gaulle a little after 6am. She was tired both physically and mentally, she could never sleep on planes and being next to Faustus didn’t help. She couldn’t relax enough to even micro sleep not when every time Faustus moved it made her jump out of her skin. According to the itinerary that Faustus gave her they would spend the majority of the morning and afternoon settling into their hotel and then after some of the groups would do a night tour of one of the museums. The groups that weren’t going on the tour where going to a movie that was playing not that far from their hotel. Zelda’s group wasn’t going on the tour and for that she was grateful, she didn’t think she could muster the energy to walk around and pay attention to her students.

Between the airport and the bus Faustus took charge, the students listened well enough to him so all Zelda had to do was make sure there were no stranglers and do the occasional head check. When they got to the hotel it was still serving breakfast and the hotel was kind enough to let them eat while Faustus collected the keys to their rooms. When they were done they moved to an unoccupied meeting room so they weren’t crowding the lobby.

“Attention students.” The students loud chattering instantly died down. Zelda might not like Faustus anymore but she did respect the power he had over his students. “I have your room assignments. There will absolutely be no swapping, any student who is found outside their assigned room will lose the privilege to go into the city no excuses. Any student found with an unauthorized person in their room or outside after curfew will also be banned and you will be suspended once we return to the Academy. Before I hand out room assignments I would like to point out our guest. Everyone this is Ms. Zelda Spellman.” Faustus pointed at her and with everyone's attention on her Zelda nodded politely. “Ms. Spellman is taking the place of my wife so treat her as you would Mrs. Blackwood. Now for the rooms…” Faustus then spent the next fifteen minutes handing out rooms to both students and teachers. When they were done they headed to their rooms in small groups. After the last of the students that went up with Zelda entered their rooms Zelda entered hers and collapsed onto the bed with a soft groan. With hours until their next activity Zelda could do what she wanted.

There were two things that Zelda at the moment wanted, sleep and a hot shower. Sleep was unattainable, she had coffee at breakfast and now she was wide awake. So she decided to shoot for the attainable. Using the luggage rack from the closet Zelda propped open her suitcase against the wall near her bed. When she opened her suitcase something felt… off. She was sure it wasn’t the way she packed it but couldn’t say it for certain. After all she packed almost half a week ago and a lot has happened between then and now. She tried not to let it bug her until she saw it under a stack of shirts. Now she might not remember everything that she packed but she knew for a fact that Ambrose’s laptop should not be in her suitcase. She pulled it out, the power cord was still attached but coiled neatly in a manner that Zelda appreciated. When she opened the lid there was a single post it note on the screen that said: _I_ _n due time_. Only Mary would be that cryptic and Zelda, wondering what her girlfriend had planned, placed the laptop on the table but went back to finding her toiletry bag.

With her bag and fresh underthings Zelda entered the bathroom. It was nice and spacious, the smooth marble felt cool under her feet. The light tan color of the floor and the shower stall made a nice contrast to the white fixtures of sinks and the bathtub making it easy on the eyes instead of blinding like a pure white bathroom would do. The second Zelda laid eyes on the tub thoughts of taking a shower left her. The tub was clawed foot with a high back and little gold legs. It looked absolutely inviting and Zelda decided to give in. As hot water filled the tub Zelda looked around the bathroom to see what was provided; soap, shampoo, lotion, and towels, basic hotel things. After measuring the towels and finding even the biggest towel a little too short Zelda left the bathroom to get a robe from the closet. She was still alone in her hotel room, she was suppose to have a roommate but so far they were a no show. Despite being alone Zelda locked the bathroom door behind her, she felt more secure with the door locked. When the tub was halfway full Zelda added some mint bath salt in the water, the scent wafted in the air to create a nice subtle aroma. When the tub was ready Zelda, after placing a towel on the floor and her hair in a bun to keep it dry, got in. A moan of absolute bliss escaped Zelda’s lips. The hot water felt absolutely wonderful on her tired muscles. What would have made this moment absolutely perfect was some soft music and maybe some wine but this was pretty good on its own. She was in the tube for about twenty minutes before the water became too cool for her liking. After towel driving off and placing on her fresh underwear she wrapped the robe around her body, making sure it was tired nicely in place and covering everything she wanted covered. Stepping out into the main room sent a chill down her spine but the robe kept some of the warmth from her bath so it was short. The warmth and relax feeling didn’t last.

“What are you doing here Faustus?” Faustus turned from the full length mirror where he stood. Faustus was the only person that Zelda knew who would travel in a three piece suit. His jacket was folded over the back of a chair and the color of his shirt was popped up. He was unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt when he saw her.

“Staff room arrangement were made months ago I saw no reason to change them.” He gave Zelda a look of indifference as though he didn’t understand why she was making a raise of them being in the same room. Oh, there were plenty of reasons why Zelda could object but Faustus just turned into the bathroom leaving her just standing there. Zelda huffed and went straight to her suitcase to get dressed, she quickly pulled on some pants and a new shirt. A few minutes later she heard the shower go off, it was her chance to make a quick escape. After grabbing her roomkey, purse, and book she left. When she got into the elevator she let out a sigh of relief, it was the first breath she could release without her chest tightening. After she arrived at the lobby she went to the front desk to inquire about a different room, she wanted to be moved into a single but the person behind the desk apologized and said they were full. Zelda understood, it was the holidays and people traveled. It looked like she was stuck with Faustus. Her only saving grace was Faustus was old fashion so she had her own bed. If they were sharing Zelda would have packed up her things and left Hawthorne be damned.

Not wanting to go back to her room Zelda spent a minute thinking where she wanted to go. The hotel had a bar and she could go there order a glass of wine or some scotch as she read her book but it was early and she was in Paris. Paris was known for a lot of things and its been years since she’s been to a cafe. That’s where she went, there was a cafe on the same block as the hotel and the weather was nice that she could sit outside in the parisian air while looking over the seine. She was harder to find this way which sealed the deal. Or so she thought. For about an hour she was undisturbed, she ordered some tea and sipped it off and on as she read her book which she planned to introduce to her French 3 class during their final month.

“Ms. Spellman.” Zelda looked up from her book to see Prudence. Even though it had been a few years Zelda remembered Prudence. Prudence and her friends Agatha and Dorcas are what Sabrina calls ‘the mean girl clique’ of the Academy. Zelda did not deny that Prudence had a power over the teachers that other students didn’t posses. In her tenure at the Academy Prudence had gotten away with several rule breaking actions with little to no consequence all because of her connection to Faustus. Illaginament or not Prudence milked the fact that she is Faustus’ daughter to anyone who crossed her. Zelda knowing that this trip would go easier if she was on Prudence’s good side put on a respectful smile.

“Prudence nice to see you.”

“I’m surprised to see you. I haven’t seen you at the Academy in almost five years.”

“I needed a change of pace.”

“To a public school where you’re overworked and paid very little? Father said that your principle makes you teach all of the foreign language classes all on your own with no break.”

“Funny I don’t remember asking for your or your father’s opinion.”

“Rumor has it you left the Academy due to a personal falling out with Father.”

“Well I can’t help what you children think.”

“It’s not us who think this. It’s the teachers. It was all forgotten until Father mentioned that you would be joining us on this trip. Some even objected to you going.”

“I’m sure they did. Now if you are done boring me with ancient history I would like to return to my reading.”

“Certainly. But as the saying goes history comes back to haunt us. See you later Ms. Spellman.” Zelda watched Prudence go. While she remained perfectly composed her blood boiled. She didn’t need Prudence to bring up her past or remind her that she was at risk of relieving it. She knew that the second Constance said she was taking her place. What she will not do is fall back on those old ways, she was better, had to be better than that. For herself and more importantly for Vida. No longer in the mood to read she downed the rest of her tea despite it going cold and left.

* * *

 

It was late when Zelda and her group returned to the hotel. If she remembered her military time 22:50 meant it was almost eleven and they had to be up early. Even though it was only 5:00 back home Zelda was exhausted. With Faustus on first patrol she enjoyed the freedom of being alone. Though she kept as much distance between herself and Faustus as she could without making it obvious this was the first time that she could relax. She dressed in her nightgown and while she was applying lotion to her elbows her phone rang. She cursed at being disturbed but when she saw Mary’s name and picture flash on the screen she scrambled to answer it.

“Hi!”

“Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all. I miss you. God I’ve only been gone for less then a day and I miss you and Vida so much.”

“Well I have something that could help with that. Did you find the surprise I left you?”

“If you’re referring to Ambrose’s laptop I did. How did you get that in my suitcase?”

“I have my ways. Now here’s what I want you to do. Power on the laptop.” Zelda whispered an okay and went to the table that she placed Ambrose’s laptop. As it booted up she found an outlet to place the plug in.

“Alright it’s on.”

“Okay first are you connected to the internet?” It took Zelda a minute to figure out where that would be displayed on the laptop and then connect to the wifi of the hotel. When she confirmed that she was connected Mary continued. “Okay I want you to open a web browser and you should see a link on the home page that says Skype, click on it.”

“Okay then what?”

“Wait for it.” After clicking the link Zelda waited for the website to load, she noted that it was all set up and on the screen was a symbol that looked like a phone in a green circle and under the button it said ‘call home’. Zelda pressed it and a minute later Mary was on the screen with her cellphone pressed to her ear smirking at her. Zelda sat in her seat in complete disbelief. She couldn’t believe that Mary was really there, yes she was seeing her through a screen but she was there. And that overwhelming feeling that filled her made tears form, a few fell. “Don’t do that when I’m not there. You know how I am when I see you cry.” Zelda did know. Mary’s overprotective nature made her go on the defense when someone she cared for was hurt. Zelda might not be the most forthcoming with her emotions but everytime she displayed hurt Mary was there in a nanosecond doing what she can to make it better rather it be a hug or threat of harm on her behalf. It made Zelda miss her that much more. It took her a minute but Zelda was able to compose herself, to push back her tears.

“How’s it going over there?”

“You mean is your house still standing? It’s perfectly intact.”

“And Vida?”

“Rough. According to Hilda she didn’t sleep at all last night. She went from one room to the next but never settling down. She’s been sleeping off and on all day.” Zelda didn’t think it would be possible for her heart to break even more than it was but at that moment it did. Hearing her baby suffering because she wasn’t there, it made her wonder if Vida was truly okay when she spent those nights at Mary’s. But Hilda would have told her if something was wrong and this was completely different. Vida was already vulnerable emotionally, her leaving just added fuel to the fire. It meant drastic measures must be taken and she made a mental note to call Hilda when she was done talking to Mary. “Hang on a second Zelda.” Zelda nodded and Mary left the screen. Where Mary’s head used to be was a picture, it was a bit blurry but something nagged at Zelda that she had seen it before. The longer she stared at it the more the feeling grew and that’s when it hit her. It was her brother’s wedding picture which was hung on the wall just outside the kitchen. Mary was in her house. Why was Mary in her house? Mary came back, in her arms was Vida. “You want to say hi to your Mommy?” Zelda could pick up the faint whine of her daughter as she lifted her head from Mary’s shoulder. Zelda knew instantly that Vida was tired, her eye’s didn’t have that shine behind them and she looked a little pale.

“Hi baby.” Some color came to Vida’s face when she could register that the image on the computer was real. A grin, a smile that Zelda always associate with Vida, spread across Vida’s face. To Zelda it felt like it happened in slow motion but in reality was a nanosecond but seeing that light come back into her daughter, it made her feel a little better.

“Mommy!” Vida got as close to the computer as she could, taking up a majority of the screen. The screen shook and Zelda could hear Mary telling Vida to back up a little and after some readjusting Zelda had a good view of Vida and Mary. “I miss you Mommy.”

“I miss you too baby. Just five more days and I’ll be home. Mary says you’ve been sleepy. What happened why couldn’t you sleep last night?”

“Missed you.”

“Did you remember what I said?” Vida, after stifling a yawn, nodded. “Good. I expect a lot of good stories from you. Do you have plans?” Vida shook her head but Mary nudged her.

“Yes you do. Remember we’re going to the aquarium on Tuesday.”

“Oh yeah.” Mary and Zelda smiled at each other. Vida was a combination of tired and emotionally drained, there was only so much they were going to get out of her. Out of the corner of her eye Mary looked at something and it caused her to frown.

“We only have two more minutes. Is there anything else you want to say to your Mommy Vida?” Vida just shook her head and started to squirm out of Mary’s hold. She ran off the second Mary put her down. Zelda, though crushed, understood why her daughter ran, she couldn’t handle another goodbye. “Zelda I-”

“It’s okay. I have to tell you something and I better make it quick. I have a bottle of my perfume on my vanity squirt some on her blanket, the small blue one and wrap Oso in it. From Vida’s books take _Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?_ I don’t recall if I have it in english I know I have it in Spanish. It should knock her right out.”

“Okay I think I can manage.”

“One last thing. Why are you in my house?”

“Vida needed me.” Zelda smiled and after saying goodbye Mary vanished from the screen. Zelda sat at the computer for a minute still trying to process what happened. Some time, Zelda didn’t know when, Mary set up this Skype thing to help her through this ordeal. And she dropped everything to go to her house to help with Vida on top of watching her when Hilda was away. While Zelda kept saying she was ready for Mary to take on more she didn’t expect Mary to take on this much so quickly. Zelda even revealed her secret bed time routine for when Vida needed that extra bit of comfort. Thinking of it now she did have _Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?_ in English but Vida responded better with the Spanish version. It would be interesting to hear how it went with Mary. The door to her hotel room slammed closed and Zelda turned around to see Faustus enter, his face full of exhaustion.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Zelda turned back to the computer and shut it down. Behind her she could hear Faustus move around but she wasn’t tense. She was completely relaxed, not jumpy or on edge. She settled into her bed, not given Faustus any mind and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

 

Being a chaperone was if anything tedious. Zelda’s duties were limited to making sure that the students that were in her group stayed in eye sight and were respectful to whoever was their tour guide at the moment. She tried to do something that would reflect her role as not only a teacher but someone who knew the language and the city. She was shot down every time, dismissed or ignored like she didn’t say anything. Eventually she just kept her mouth shut. Though not treated like an equal she still had the same duties like taking a night shift. Night shifts were split into three hour blocks where a chaperone like herself would overlook the hallways that housed the rooms that were occupied by the students. Staff patrol started around eleven and the last shift was at 5. If on the first patrol they would do a bed check and a final head count before Faustus would put tape on the doors. Her job was to make sure the tape didn’t break. It was a boring job, one that Zelda found herself almost falling asleep on.

Tuesday was relatively going to be an easy day. The students were scheduled to take one of the featured tours then after lunch to explore the museum on their own to work on some project they were assigned, Zelda was never given any details nor asked. They arrived at the Louvre just as it opened, it was an early tour. A tour guide was supposed to meet them outside the museum to start the tour with the museums bigger pieces; the museum itself. There guide wasn’t there and that cause Faustus to go into a tirade with the person running the ticket office. His tantrum, as Zelda saw it, attracted the attention of one of the museums curators. The curator apologized but said that there was some sort of mix up in confirming the tour and that all their tours for that day were full. They were offered audio tours free of charge but that didn’t please Faustus. He scoffed and waved at his deputy saying to handle it. He stormed off, no one made a move to chase him. The deputy after cutting the tension that Faustus storming off caused moved the students to collect the audio tours. Zelda hung back even as the students and some of the chaperone’s moved into the museum, she was too focused on the curator. The second that Zelda saw the curator she couldn’t help but think she saw this woman before, it was on the tip of her brain but she couldn’t grasp it. The curator, when the last of Zelda’s party had moved on, looked at her the same way.

“Zelda? No it can’t be.” The curator stepped closer and Zelda, who was about one second to go onto the defence, didn’t when she saw the name of the woman’s badge.

“Isabeth. Long time no seen.” After embracing they kissed each other’s cheek, a common greeting in France.

“What are you doing here? I distinctly remember you saying that once you left you’d never return which you know broke my heart because I was never leaving.”

“It’s a long story.”

“Ooh. This I’ve got to hear.” Isabeth offered Zelda her elbow, she took it and they walked into the museum.

* * *

 

“So why are you in Paris?” Zelda looked at Isabeth over the rim of her tea cup. Isabeth led her through the back tunnels of the museum to her office. It was quite impressive with a large oak desk and several paintings on the wall. Zelda and Isabeth sat at the tea table that was next to a large picture window that offered an amazing birds eye view of the main floor of the museum. Isabeth’s assistant brought them a tray of warm tea and some small pastries. Zelda wasn’t hungry so she just took tea.

“I’m filling in for another teacher.” Isabeth’s eyes went wide and she started to laugh like she just heard the greatest joke ever.

“You’re a teacher!? I don’t know who I feel more sorry for you or your students. Tell me you don’t work for the man who behaves like a five year old?”

“For the next three days I do and after that I hope to never see him again. And considering I have a four year old I resent that.” If it was possible Isabeth’s eyes went even wider but this time shock.

“You have a kid!? Now you must start at the beginning.”

“Where do you want me to start?”

“How about when you left Paris. What happened to you ma cherie?” Zelda took a generous sip of her tea before setting down her cup. She sat there in silence, watching the liquid swirl around inside the cup and running her thumb over the edge of the rim.

“My brother found me the second I stepped foot off the train.”

“No!”

“Mhm. Took me back that same day. My mother was furious.”

“And what she punished you by making you became a teacher?”

“No that’s my own doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“My brother and his wife died orphaning their daughter, my niece Sabrina. At the time I worked as a midwife but the hours were so inconsistent that I had to find another job that would let me be home at night with Sabrina so Hilda could work. It’s how I got tangled with Faustus.”

“Who?”

“The man that was yelling in front of your museum.”

“Ah. The five year old.”

“I told you I take offense to that. My four year old is perfectly well behaved.”

“Yes yes you’ve mentioned that and we’ll get back to that little tidbit later for now I want you to tell me about this Faustus guy there’s history I’m sure.” Isabeth took a silver case out of her pocket and pulled out a cigarette, she offered one to Zelda but she declined. Zelda quit officially when she and Hilda got permanent custody of Sabrina.

“Faustus and my brother worked together. They started a school back where I lived and it became successful. When Edward died Faustus took over the running of the school. When I needed a more stable job that’s where I went and he started my teaching career. At the time I wasn’t qualified and knew nothing about teaching but Faustus knew my skills in languages and used me first as a teaching aid and then later I became a full blown teacher. We… got much closer than we should have. He was married and that was a line I never thought I would cross but I did. I kick myself every time I think about that first time because it created this… need in me and I couldn’t have chosen the worst person to satisfy it. It went on much longer than I’m proud to admit it did. I then committed the greatest betrayal there was.

Faustus hired me to be a midwife to his wife, she was having trouble maintaining a pregnancy and he thought I could help. I took the job and even knowing that he was trying to create a family I still saw him intimately. A consequence is that I became pregnant. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I knew I was capable of raising a child because I’ve been raising Sabrina since she was not even a year old. I was also having a married man’s baby, my child would be the same age as his wife’s. And did I also want to bring a child into this world knowing the only reason she existed was because of an affair? I couldn’t come to a decision on my own and some stupid part of me though it be fair that I get Faustus opinion. To this day I can’t get over how he snarled at me like it was my fault that this parasite was growing inside me. He gave me two options, keep the child and never set foot in his eyesight again or get rid of it and never talk about it again. You know what choice I made.”

“For the better I hope?”

“Walking away was the best thing I ever did. I might despise Faustus but he gave me the best gift ever, my daughter.” Isabeth gave a small smile and nodded to herself.

“May I?” Zelda took out her phone and pulled up the pictures she had of Vida. She had several, ranging from back when Vida was a baby to now. There was a few of Sabrina, Ambrose, and Hilda, it would be the first time that Isabeth would see what her sister looked like instead of having to rely on the description that Zelda have given her. “Adorable. Looks just like you, and for that I am sorry.”

“Hey!”

“Not like that. If she is anything like you with the brains to match that beauty the rest of us are in trouble.”

“So Hilda keeps saying.”

“Who is this?” Isabeth turned the face of her phone to her to show a picture of her Mary and Vida from Christmas. They were in their Christmas pjs sitting on the couch. Vida was curled between them and Zelda had her head on Mary’s shoulder. Mary’s finger could just be seen tangled in her hair. If memory serves Zelda well it was Sabrina who took the picture.

“That’s Mary she’s my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend as in romantic? Zelda nodded and Isabeth gasped in shock. “Zelda! Well at least your taste in women is better than your taste in men.” Zelda just glared but a moment later she smiled. She wasn’t quite sure how much of Isabeth’s approval she wanted but she was glad her old friend didn’t judge her. Her phone started to vibrate and Faustus’ number flashed on the screen.

“I have to get going.”

“Very well. It was nice catching up with you Zelda, I’ll walk you out.” At the elevator Isabeth hugged her and they kissed each other’s cheeks one last time before Zelda look the elevator back down to the main floor of the museum. Faustus was in the lobby, he wasn’t very happy with her but Zelda waved him off. It was nice to confide in someone, catching up with an old friend made it that much better.

* * *

 

Zelda could not express the joy she felt on Thursday. She was going home tomorrow! They were taking the early flight home so she would be back in Greendale, back home with her family before dinner. She wished she could talk to Mary but this wasn’t the first time she cursed the time difference. Since talking with Mary on the Skype she had this strange feeling, an empty open air kind of feeling whenever she slept on her side. Sleeping on her back was fine but on her side she felt like something was missing. It was Mary, Mary was missing. She was missing the warmth of Mary pressed against her back as she slept and she wondered when she grew accustomed to that feeling. How she slept without it. Zelda couldn’t dwell on it, the more she thought about her family the more eager she was to go home. She needed to stay calm, focused so she wasn’t on edge.

That afternoon was a bus tour to see the parts of the city they didn’t have time for and then they went back to the hotel so the students could work on their assignments. Zelda took the time to pack, she kept a set of clothes out but made sure that her suitcase was neatly packed and that the items that she needed like her passport were in reach. After some debate she packed Ambrose’s laptop, she wanted to talk to Mary and her daughter one last time but she also didn’t want to forget it either. When she was done packing she turned around to see Faustus, he looked like he was in discomfort.

“Is something wrong?”

“The rest of the faculty members and myself are going to have dinner at the hotel tonight you are welcomed to join us.”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on Zelda it’s just dinner. I know you’ve felt like you haven’t really been apart of the group but you worked just as hard as the rest of us. You have every right to attend.”

“I’ll think about it.” Faustus gave her a smile that once upon a time Zelda found charming but now it sent a twisting feeling in her gut. He left and Zelda was left to think about the offer.

She decided to take the dinner offer. She found a dress that she packed just in case and went down to the lobby. She told the matradee that she was joining another party and gave him Faustus’ name. He led her to a table that was set for two. Though the martdee left her Zelda was hesitant on sitting down. Faustus said this was a staff dinner there was more than just two of them. What was going on? Against her better judgement she sat down and waited for Faustus. Faustus arrived fifteen minutes later, he was lucky she was going to leave in five more minutes.

“Zelda.”

“You said this was a staff dinner.”

“Yes everyone else had other plans.” Zelda didn’t believe him but she had no proof and she was hungry so she bit her tongue. They sat in silence minus them ordering their food and that was fine with Zelda, she wouldn’t choose Faustus as a dining companion if he was the last person on earth. “How is your sister?”

“Excuse me?”

“Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Don’t.” They didn’t talk again and when their meal was done Zelda was finishing off her wine before heading back to her room.

“Zelda there is something that I want to talk to you about.”

“Make it quick.”

“I want you to come back to the Academy Zelda, the school isn’t the same without you. I miss you.”

“I’m not coming back Faustus.”

“If you won’t come back at least can I get to know her.” Zelda’s heart ran cold at the same time her blood ran hot with rage.

“You bastard. You have no right.”

“She’s my daughter Zelda.”

“You didn’t even want her!”

“Zelda calm-”

“No listen to me very carefully Faustus. You gave up any right to her when you said for me to get rid of her. I made the choice to keep her, she’s mine you have no right to her and I would die before I let you have any part of her.” Zelda not caring who was watching her stormed out of the restaurant. She could not believe Faustus would pull this crap. He had no right to suddenly change his mind for whatever reason he thought was a good reason. It made her sick and when she got to her room she hastily changed and left with her suitcase in hand.

It wasn’t until she was in the sky on a flight to London that Zelda allowed herself to process her emotions. She was angry, flabbergasted, that Faustus would want to, after five years, be apart of Vida’s life. She was also scared. Faustus was a man with means and she knew his reputation of getting what he wanted in the end. What did that mean for her? For Vida? Whatever he wanted Zelda wouldn’t allow it. He made up his mind, she made up hers. There was no hope in changing it.

* * *

 

When she got off of her connector flight it was early in the morning. She didn’t want to cause a panic so after picking up her suitcases she took a cab home. It was more costly that way but it was the best option. Seeing her house set a wave of emotion through her. She was home. Entering the house she heard her family in the kitchen sitting down for breakfast.

“When’s Zelda’s flight coming in?” From where she stood Zelda could see into the kitchen without herself being seen. Hilda was buzzing around setting down a plate of eggs, Sabrina and Ambrose were in their usual place on the bench, and Mary was next to Vida. Her spot at the front was left vacant.

“Early afternoon I think. If we leave here around noon that should make up the time for us to get there and her going through customs to meet her at bag check.” Mary cut up Vida’s pancakes before moving to her own. Vida wasted no time, she shoved two pieces into her mouth covering her face in blueberry.

“Vida slow down before you choke.” There was a collective gasp before everyone turned to her. Vida was the first to recover, she scrambled out of her seat and ran to her.

“Mommy!” Zelda picked up her daughter, squeezing her tight. She missed everyone but she missed Vida the most. And with Faustus… Zelda tried not to think about it. Zeld went around the table to hug her family, when she got to Mary they shared a kiss before she took her seat with Vida in her lap. Everyone talked over each other as they ate but Zelda didn’t mind. She was with her family, with her daughter and Mary. She was home.


	16. The One Where Paris isn't the City of Romance pt. 3 side B

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! Chapter 14 is now done! Just a refresher side B will be told in Mary/ Vida's point of view but it stays in the same time line as side A. Enjoy!

It turns out being brave was easier said than done. Vida tried, she really did, but when Aunt Hilda put her to bed the best way she knew how it hit her hard. Her mom wasn’t going to come back. She was away and Vida wouldn’t see her for six whole days. And she was with Judas’ dad. If Judas was mean to her what’s to stop his dad from being mean to her mom? Mary said that her mom would be alright and Mary hasn’t lied to her yet right? So why can’t she sleep? Vida sat up in her bed in the dark, the room felt too big, too empty, its never felt like that before. Whenever she felt scared she would go to her mom but her mom wasn’t there, her bed remained empty. It made her more sad than she already was. Throughout the night she tried sleeping in different rooms but her Aunt Hilda snored too much and Sabrina and Ambrose just didn’t feel... right. She didn’t know what it was but she just knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep there. At the end of the night she found herself in the parlor on the couch curled under her blanket. She was so tired that she fell into a shallow sleep.

That’s where Hilda found her the next morning and her heart broke. Vida was taking her mother leaving hard and Hilda didn’t know what to do. Simple distractions will only work for so long and she doubts that they would work in this case. There were so many things at play that she didn’t know which one to cure first, if she could cure it at all. And unfortunately she can’t just pull Zelda out of a hat to make things better. That’s when it hit her, Hilda might not have Zelda at her disposal but she did have the next best thing. Mary.

* * *

 

Mary came just after breakfast where Hilda tried, and failed, to get Vida to eat something. She was scrapping pancakes completely drenched in strawberry jam into the trash when Mary stepped into the kitchen.

“It’s that bad?” Hilda just nodded, a look of somber on her face. Pancakes and strawberry jam where Vida’s favorite and Hilda used the last of the jam that they had on hand in hopes to getting her niece to eat. It only worked for two bites.

“She’s in the living room. I brought out a new puzzle and it seemed to distract her. I don’t know what to do Mary she’s too much like her mother, stubborn. That’s why I’m hoping you can help she responds better to you than she does to me.” At that point Hilda looked like she was close to tears. In two quick strides Mary was by her side and placed a reassuring hand on Hilda’s shoulder.

“You’re a great aunt Hilda.” They shared a small smile and with a quick nod of her head Mary went to find Vida. Vida was sitting on the floor with puzzle pieces surrounding her. Mary could tell that Vida was trying to complete the puzzle but her heart wasn’t in it, she just picked at the pieces but made no real move to put them together. She didn’t even notice Mary sitting next to her until two pieces that went together connected. Vida whined and laid down to place her head in Mary’s lap. Mary just smiled and ran her fingers through Vida’s hair.

“You really miss your mom don’t you baby bear?” Vida just nodded. It was all that Mary was going to get out of her. Though not her forte Mary started on the puzzle in hopes of getting Vida to join her. She had half of the edges done when Vida lifted her head from her lap and started. Together they did half the puzzle before Mary settled Vida on the couch when she noted that Vida couldn’t keep her eyes open. There was some success, Mary faked putting pieces that clearly didn’t belong to get a rise, it work only a few times because Vida was smart and knew what Mary was doing but it was a start.

While Vida slept Mary brought out her laptop to set it up for the surprise that she had planned for Zelda and Vida. She wanted everything ready before she called Zelda so she made sure that her laptop was connected to the internet and she was signed into the Skype account she set up. She found the connection strongest in kitchen so when everything was set she moved her laptop to a side table to keep it charged and when it was time she’ll move into the kitchen. Having done a lot of math on her part she calculated when it would be a good time to call Zelda, she settled on a block between 3 and 6 their time, it would be between 9 and 12 midnight Zeldas. A small part of Mary believed that this idea wouldn’t work but a large part of believed it would. Zelda and Vida needed each other but between the two Vida needed her mother more. It wasn’t that unusual, Vida was a small child who still relied heavily on her mother but a part of why Vida was so upset was worry. Zelda and Vida both had the same fear, for something to happen to the other. If Vida could see that her mom was okay than it would help her be okay, to power through the week like the spitfire that Mary loved so much.

Vida had a bit more energy after her nap. Mary woke her for lunch, which she ate half of, and they finished the puzzle. That was when Mary asked Vida what they wanted to do during the week, They had a whole week of time to occupy and no plans. Vida wanted to go to the zoo again, Mary didn’t mind taking her but it was something that they already done and she suspected that Vida just wanted to go to see the bears. Bears made Vida happy and right now she wasn’t. Instead Mary suggested the aquarium, for one it was inside so they wouldn’t be cold and two it was someplace new for Vida to explore. After some convincing Vida agreed to go to the aquarium on Wednesday.

* * *

 

The Skype call could have gone better in Mary’s opinion. She didn’t expect Vida to run off the way she did. She realized now the unrealistic expectation she had placed on Vida. That once Vida saw her mom she would magically go back to her old self instead Mary just opened the wound more. She felt bad and went to find Vida after the call ended. Her heart broke when she found Vida on Zelda’s bed in a small ball crying into the comforter. This wasn’t what Mary wanted, she wanted to make Vida happy not sad. Remembering the advice that Zelda gave her she gathered the items that she need starting with the book. Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? was buried under a bunch of books, almost to the bottom of the stack. Zelda was right, she had the book in Spanish and in English. The Spanish version looked more worn from more use than the English version. Mary took the English version, she tested some of the words in Spanish but felt she couldn’t do it justice. The next part was trickier, she had to move around the room just so as to not alert Vida to what she was doing. She took the baby blanket and Oso to Zelda’s vanity where she squirt a little of Zelda’s perfume on a now wrapped Oso. An Oso burrito, it was adorable. Not wanting to move Vida Mary joined her on Zelda’s bed, placing Oso so he was in reach and started reading. Somewhere between the second and third reading Vida moved out of her ball and closer to Mary. Mary lifted her elbow and Vida snuggled into her side. Half way into the fifth reading Vida fell asleep. Mary smiled and gently picked Vida up to place her into her own bed.

“Goodnight baby bear.” Mary kissed Vida’s forehead before moving away. She didn’t get far until a small sound stopped her.

“Love you Mamma.” Mary was frozen while her heart pounded hard and fast in her chest. Though it was only three words there was a lot to take away from them. It was the first time that Vida said she loved her and she called her Mamma on top of it. She did it while half asleep yes and a part of Mary knew that and told her not to get her hopes up. A bigger part was awestruck and wouldn’t stop mulling over the word. Mamma. Mary really liked it and if that is what Vida wanted she would be the best Mamma she could be.

* * *

 

Vida was more herself the next day. Mary woke up to find her sitting next to her smiling and greeting her good morning with a smile that was uniquely Vida. Mary, happy that Vida was feeling better, brought Vida close to her to blow raspberries on her cheek and tickle her until Vida cried for mercy. It was around eight so the ground floor was completely still, Sabrina and Ambrose, if he was home, were most likely still asleep and Hilda had, according to her note, left early for work. Between Hilda’s note and the cluster of Vida’s Valentine’s cards was a grocery list held by a magnet, Mary took it off and read it as the coffee brew.

“Looks like I can’t make you pancakes baby bear. How about french toast instead?”

“I don’t know what that is but okay! May I watch cartoons?”

“Sure sweetie I’ll call you in when it’s done.”

“Okay!” With that Vida skipped out of the kitchen and a few moments later the sounds of, if Mary wasn’t mistaken, Bugs Bunny filled but not over power the peaceful atmosphere of the house. As she made the french toast Mary thought of what to do for that day. If the list was anything to go by Hilda had plans on running to the store and was either going to go before work or was going to go after and forgot the list. Mary decided as she was placing the final touches on the french toast, sprinkling on some powdered sugar and cutting Vida’s portion into smaller pieces, that she would help Hilda.

“Vida after breakfast would you like to go to the grocery store with me? It would help out your Aunt Hilda.”

“Sure! Can I pick out the produce?”

“Of course. I don’t know a better produce picker than you.” Vida smiled and placed her last piece of french toast into her mouth, getting more syrup on her face and some powdered sugar on her nose. Finished, she set her fork on her empty plate and pushed it slightly away.

“I like french toast. Thank you for making it Mama.” There was a pause as Mary tried to calm down her racing heart. With Vida now in a better mood it was looking less likely that her calling her mamma was a mistake. But Mary was still trying to figure Vida out and deep down she still might be hurt and was latching on the one thing that she could. If that’s what it took to make Vida happy than so be it.

“You’re welcome sweetie.”

“May I start getting ready?”

“Sure but…” Mary took a napkin and whipped off Vida’s face. Vida squirmed a little but made no real move to get away. “Off you go.” Vida jumped out of her seat and ran most likely back to her room. With breakfast done Mary washed the plates and left them on the drying rack before heading up the stairs. With still no sight of Sabrina she decided to poke her head in to check up on her. Sabrina was still snoozing away and Mary debated if she should wake her but decided against it. She didn’t know what Hilda or Zelda would do in this case and she didn’t have any responsibility or power over Sabrina, not like the kind she had with Vida. So Mary let Sabrina sleep on but if she wasn’t awake by the time they got back then she would do something. Perhaps Vida would know what to do. Speaking of, Vida was almost fully dressed when Mary entered the bedroom. The only thing that Vida didn’t have on was her sweater, she was trapped and was grateful when Mary freed her.

“You and sweaters don’t mix very well do they baby bear?”

“Nope!” As Mary got ready Vida patiently waited on Zelda’s bed as she played with Oso. When they were ready to go Mary lifted Vida off the bed and they set out to go. As Mary double checked that she had everything, purse, keys, list, Sabrina came down mumbling a morning on her way to the kitchen. They said goodbye to her, not that they got an answer, and left.

* * *

 

Unlike Zelda Hilda’s leaving went over a lot smoother. Dr. C arrived Wednesday morning just after breakfast and they left with very little fan fair. Though Mary was supposed to take Vida to her house at this point Hilda said she was more than welcomed to stay and thinking that Vida would be more comfortable in her own house Mary remained where she was. With Hilda now gone and Mary the only responsible adult remaining she was left in charge with the running of the house. It wasn’t all that bad, the only one who really needed her was Vida, Sabrina and Ambrose were competent enough to look after themselves. The only problem she had was Sabrina liked to sleep in late but as someone who likes to have a good lie in Mary saw no harm and let her but made a cut off hour. At ten she would wake Sabrina by letting Vida into her room and letting her jump and yell at Sabrina to wake up. Sabrina was never amused when they did this but it wasn’t often that they would have to so all was good.

Something that Mary noted during her stay was a calendar that was hung just outside the kitchen. On it the Spellmans would write their events for the month like Hilda’s and Zelda’s trip. Everyday Vida would ‘X’ out that days date so she would know how many more days she would have until Zelda came back. Now more excited Vida had Mary write down they were going to the aquarium and now with it being Tuesday there was only one day left before they’d go. That morning before Vida ‘X’d out that day’s date Mary saw an entry that Zelda made. Mary didn’t know when Zelda made it but it was different from her trip entry, the ink was a different color.

“Vida what does this mean?” Mary pointed at the entry and after some thinking Vida’s face lit up in revelation.

“Sheet changes!”

“What?”

“Mommy changes and washes the sheets every season. She goes around and strips the beds to put on new sheets and washes the ones she takes off. When it’s nice she hangs them on the clothesline outside. She says it saves energy and when they are drying outside she could continue using the machines. She lets me help.”

“Good because I will be needing as much help as I can get.”

“We’re changing the sheets?”

“We’re changing the sheets. Lead the way baby bear.” Though Mary gave Vida an encouraging smile inside she cringed. Laundry, she hated laundry, but this would help both Zelda and Vida so she’ll bite her tongue.

Their adventure started with the linen closet on the second floor. The closet was right next to the shared bathroom, making it the perfect distance between all of the bedrooms. The closet was organized in a way that Mary knew Zelda had complete control over it and it made her smile. The closet was arranged so that the top three shelves held all of the towels neatly folded and grouped by color. The two remaining shelves had the bed linens in neat little baskets and it took Vida explaining it to Mary how they were arranged. Each basket was a season and it was arranged in order of winter, spring, summer, fall. The smaller baskets had the pillow cases and the larger ones the flat and fitted sheets. Mary and Vida took the winter baskets where the dirty linens would go and the full spring baskets to redress the beds. Mary didn’t think she couldn’t have done it without Vida. Vida was practically an expert, she was the one who suggested that they completely strip the bed, redress it, then do the pillows so everything remained nice and organized. Mary was very impressed. By the time they stripped all of the beds it was lunchtime so while they went through the wash Mary fixed her and Vida some lunch. Because it was nice out Mary agreed to hang the sheets on the line. At first Vida didn’t know what Zelda did with the clothes pins but they eventually found the container they resided in. While Mary was in charge of the sheets Vida was in charge of the pins. Whenever Mary needed a pin Vida would hand her one until all of the sheets were securely hung on the line, fluttering gently in the early spring breeze. Periodically Mary checked on them, they finished drying completely just before dinner.

Apparently Mary doing the sheets was a bigger deal than her agreeing that they could order a pizza for dinner. Mary would admit that her cooking ability is limited and Vida, to Mary’s shock, never had pizza. Mary didn’t know why Sabrina acted shocked hearing this, they lived in the same house and ate the same meals, but she somehow managed to convince Mary to order one. While they were waiting for that Mary came back with the sheets, neatly folded in their basket and Sabrina’s jaw dropped even more. No one in the family did the sheets. Sabrina couldn’t give a clear reason as to why but with matters concerning Zelda sometimes ‘just because’ is the only reason you need. Zelda liked things done a certain way and it was just easier to let her do what she wanted than argue. Mary understood that but she didn’t regret doing the sheets. She didn’t know how much stress Zelda was going to be while in Paris but the more stress they could eliminate in Greendale the more time Zelda could use to enjoy being back with her family.

* * *

 

“It’s aquarium day!” That was the first thing that Mary’s brain registered when something woke her up. It was Vida practically jumping on the bed. “Wake up Mamma! I want to see the fishes!” Mary groaned into her pillow and turned her head just so to look at the clock. It was not even 7.

“Too early.”

“Mamma!” Mustering as much strength as she could Vida pushed Mary. Mary just stayed as still as possible, maybe if she didn’t act at all Vida would give up and settle down. It worked with Zelda until she set that alarm and as far as Mary knew Vida didn’t know how to do that. Eventual Mary picked up a small huff as Vida settled down onto the bed next to her.

When Mary decided to get up it was twenty to nine, perfect. The aquarium didn’t open until eleven and it was about an hour drive there. Now that she was up Vida excitedly got dress so she was ready to go. Mary followed suit and knowing how eagar Vida was made them toast, regular toast from the toaster, so they could eat in the car. Through out the car ride Vida chatted on about what she thought the aquarium would be like. Mary told her little details but they would pale in comparison to the actual thing.

The small gasp that Vida gave when they entered made Mary smile. Vida looked around wide eye like it was the most amazing thing ever and Mary had to admit it was pretty impressive. The centerpiece of the lobby was a large cylinder fish tank that stretched from several floors below to what appeared to be to ceiling. Several tropical fish swam by in an array of moving color against the crisp blue water and gently swaying plant life. Vida was in total aww and Mary didn’t mind slowly making their way down as Vida tried to take in every little detail. Occasionally there was a plant or a fish that Vida found fascinating and would pause to just watch, almost studying it. Mary didn’t mind, it gave her a pause to take in what was going on around them. Zelda intrusted Vida’s safety to her and Mary took her job seriously. When they got to the lower floor Vida broke away to look at some of the other tanks. Mary loved that Vida liked reading the plaques as much as she liked looking at the animals inside. Whenever she was stuck on a word Mary would help her or explain something that she didn’t understand. Like with the large tank in the lobby there were moments where Vida just wanted to stay and watch a certain tank. Mary never minded, she loved seeing the emotions and expressions that crossed Vida’s face. One of Vida’s favorite tanks was the large sea turtle tank, she did the same thing with the bears at the zoo, watching them with big eyes and saying ‘tortue’ that Mary suspected meant turtle in some language.

“Your daughter is lovely.” Mary turned her attention to a middle age woman. Instinctively Mary moved closer to Vida who was fascinated with the tank that housed the seahorses. “She’s so well behaved and polite. My kids aren’t like that on a good day.”

“You are placing your compliment to the wrong person. That’s all her mother’s doing.” The other woman’s jaw dropped and Mary smirking turned to Vida.

“Are you hungry baby bear? Do you want to get some lunch?”

“Yes Mamma!” Vida held out her arms and Mary picked her up, settling her on her hip. As they walked away Mary heard a gasp. In the reflection of one of the tanks Mary saw the woman had a horrified look as she put two and two together. Mary smirked and they went to lunch.

* * *

 

There last stop for that day was the shop. Mary decided that she would get Vida something small, she’ll let Vida pick it out of course. Vida gravitated towards the books but after a while realized they were either too babyish or too difficult for her so they moved on. Next to the books was a display of stuffed animals, Vida rounded the fixture until her eyes landed on something that made her gasped.

“Mamma look!” Vida held out a stuffed octopus. It was mostly head with big purple eyes and tiny legs on the bottom. The top of the body was a medium blue color while the bottom was green.

“You want the octopus?” Vida’s smile turned soft and she brought the octopus close to her small body, fingers stroking a tuft of fur on the creatures head.

“Yes.” Mary held out her hand and Vida gave her the octopus. Mary glanced at the toy and then at the tag that was attached on some webbing between two tentacles. It wasn’t that much and the octopus was a part of a special, two for twenty. “Did you want to get him a friend or just him?”

“No just him.”

“As you wish baby bear.” With that they paid and left. Since they were already out Mary asked Vida if they wanted to eat out. Vida didn’t mind but didn’t know where to go so Mary took her to a small Mexican restaurant that she saw on the way down. It was a good pick, Vida loved the cheese quesadilla and Mary laughed at the face Vida made when she tried the refried beans. On the way home Vida fell asleep with her new octopus friend in her arms. Mary smiled at her through the rearview mirror and when they got home she carried her all the way upstairs and placed her in bed with a kiss on her forehead. It was a good day.

* * *

 

Vida stuck to Zelda like glue. She refused to be put down and Mary recognized that Zelda didn’t want to let her daughter go. It was understandable, they missed each other but Mary caught something in Zelda’s eyes that gave her a feeling that it was more than that. Vida talked Zelda’s ear off about what she did that week, mainly the aquarium where she showed off Octo her new octopus that Mamma bought her. When Vida said that Zelda looked stunned and Mary couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or a bad.

“Vida, your mom is tired, how about we let her get some rest?” Vida whined and pouted a little, she just got her mom back she didn’t want to leave.

“Just an hour baby and then we can do something okay?” After a moment Vida nodded and let Zelda put her down on the sofa. Mary followed Zelda to her bedroom. Mary cringed a little because she was going to straighten up a bit just to make it look nice and neat but as Zelda scanned over the room she didn’t seem to mind.

“Something happened.” Zelda sighed and sat on a corner of her bed. Since the bed was still unmade Zelda had view of the sheets and she picked up a corner examining it as though something was off.

“Did someone change my sheets?”

“I did but that’s not what we’re talking about. What happened Zelda.”

“He wanted her.”

“What?”

“Faustus. He tricked me into having dinner with him and he at first wanted me back but when I refused, he then wanted to get to know the daughter that he didn’t even want. But I know Faustus and the only reason why he wants anything to do with Vida is because I won’t be his mistress again.”

“Do you think he…” Mary couldn’t finish her sentence as a lump formed in her throat. The idea that someone could take away Vida sent a cold chill down her spine.

“Over my dead body.”

“Good.”

“How long has Vida been calling you Mamma?”

“Since you left.”

“I see.” There was a pause. Mary watched as Zelda started to unpack her suitcase not saying a word.

“Zelda-”

“I’m not upset.”

“Not what I was going to ask. I’ll be down stairs.” Mary halfway stepped to where Zelda was but stopped and turned to leave.

“Move in with me.” Mary gently closed the door and turned around to face Zelda. Zelda also turned around she looked dead straight at Mary.

“What?”

“When I was in Paris I missed you and Vida so damn much. I would find myself thinking what you two were doing and never thought it would be things so mundane as grocery shopping and changing the sheets. Deep down I know it’s not fair to you, living in this house is a struggle some days but you have assimilated yourself so flawlessly that I… its hard on me when you’re not here. Maybe I am selfish for wanting everything but I want you here every day not just every other weekend. I don’t expect an answer or for you to accept but…” Mary was in front of Zelda in two quick strides. Mary took Zelda’s face in her hands, her thumb stroking the apple of Zelda’s cheek.

“You’re not selfish and I would love to move in. When things get too overwhelming we can always go to my house but I love being here with you and your family. We’ll start slow though.” Zelda nodded and they kissed for the second time in over a week.

* * *

 

Tuesday came much too fast. It took most of the weekend for the family to readjust with both Zelda and Hilda back. Zelda set out to reclaime some of the organization that she felt was lost in the house, it wasn’t much and she even thanked Mary for doing the sheets. Hilda’s day was Sunday, she made a big meal that was never called ‘Easter dinner’ but Mary suspected it was the reason why. Throughout the weekend Mary brought stuff over, mainly things that she would need for work so when they went back to work she dressed and got ready with Zelda. Though it shouldn’t have come as a surprise Zelda and Mary just moved together effortlessly. Zelda always woke up first, she would be downstairs by the time Mary would wake up, and by the time Mary was ready they would kiss Vida goodbye and leave with Sabrina. They carried on like nothing changed because nothing really did. At lunch they had a staff meeting and Zelda arrived a little after Mary. Mary saved her a seat towards the back. The meeting didn’t go over anything new, Mary was bored half to death by the end of it. At the end of it Hawthorne announced that he had an important announcement.

“As some of you might know Mrs. Gardenia left just before break to undergo a not life threatening but necessary procedure. Her usual substitute is unavailable so I had a limited time to find a qualified replacement. As of right now Mr. Thomas would be taking her morning classes while her afternoon classes will be taken by the substitute. Though only with us part time and until the end of the school year I would like you all to treat her as she is part of the Baxter High family. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Ms. Jackson.” A woman with a sharp angle face Came in and the staff gave her a respectful applause. Mary joined them but there was something about Ms. Jackson that she didn’t like. Next to her Zelda went rigid in her seat. Mary was going to ask what was wrong when she heard Zelda say with such venom that it concerned her.

“ _Shirley_.”


	17. The One With the She-Devil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this chapter is a week late but I literally didn’t have this finished until yesterday but to be honest I probably wasn’t going to post the chapter until this week because...*drum roll* I’M GOING ON VACATION!!!!!! Yay, me!!! Because I’m going on vacation it means I probably won’t post another chapter until October to give me time to write out the next chapter so don’t panic you guys know that I haven’t abandoned you and am working on it. Thanks for understanding!

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. Zelda knew now that her name wasn’t pulled out of thin air. She couldn’t confirm if it was Faustus who wanted her or if Hawthorne offered her like a sacrificial lamb but the underlined facts were the same. Hawthorne turned to Faustus for a substitute to carry out the remainder of Mrs. Gardenia’s classes but at a price, her head. And thus Shirley Jackson strutting down the halls of Baxter High like she owned them. While she couldn’t confirm that Shirley was always part of the deal her being at Zelda’s school wasn’t a coincidence. Shirley was hopelessly devoted to Faustus for reasons that Zelda could never understand and if he told her to be here she wouldn’t question it. Though Shirley’s presence was a threat Zelda wouldn’t let it affect her job, she had seniors that were graduating in less than a month and two solid months of school left, she couldn’t afford distractions.

At the end of the day when Hawthorne announced that Shirley was a substitute for Mrs. Gardenia Zelda was in her classroom, preparing for the next day like she does every afternoon after school lets out. She was, despite what happened at lunch, buzzing with anticipation because since she didn’t have any grading to do could pick her daughter up from school early.

“Long time no see Zelda.” That happy feeling left Zelda when a cold chill washed over her.

“Shirley.”

“So this is where you ran to.”

“And here I thought you would be happy that I left.”

“Oh I am the Academy is no place for someone like you.”

“I don’t quite care for your opinion of me Shirley. Now unless you have actual business with me I suggest you leave.” Shirley smiled, it was more of a sneer, and left. Right behind her was Mary. She glared at Shirley’s retreating form.

“What did she want?”

“Nothing other than continuing some vendetta that she has against me.”

“A threat?”

“Shirley is only a threat to herself.” Now finished with her blackboards Zelda clapped her hands together to get rid of the excess chalk. “Are you ready to go?” Mary nodded and after Zelda collected her coat and purse from her office they left to pick up Vida.

* * *

 

__As it turned out, Shirley wasn’t going to go away. Despite her best efforts Zelda couldn’t shake Shirley. Wherever she turned there was Shirley sneering at her as she passed. Occasionally, Shirley would say something that made her blood boil.

Like on Wednesday:

“New blouse Zelda?” The blouse in question wasn’t new per say. It was Mary’s, Zelda accidentally grabbed it out of the wrong side of the closet because she was readjusting herself on sharing a living space with another person. Zelda, though flustered when Sabrina pointed it out, liked wearing the shirt. She would every once in a while get a whiff of Mary’s perfume and it made her smile.

“In a way.”

“A bit inappropriate for a work setting wouldn’t you say?” The blouse wasn’t something that Zelda herself wouldn’t personally wear. Mary liked showing a little bit a cleavage, Zelda not so much and with the cut of the blouse it showed a little more cleavage on her than it did Mary. However, it still wasn’t a lot to be deemed inappropriate. Not wanting to dignify Shirley’s comment with a response Zelda just smiled and walked away.

And Friday:

Zelda and Mary were having lunch in her office like they always do. Sabrina and her friends came in to ask Mary a question. As they left Shirley came around the corner a little too casually for Zelda’s liking. Shirley looked at Sabrina and her friends leaving and gave a look like she smelt something bad.

“Is there a problem Ms. Jackson?” Shirley turned her look to Mary. Mary was, like always, leaned back in her chair with her feet on Zelda’s desk, Zelda has given up the battle to make Mary stop. Mary countered Shirley’s distasteful look with a blank expression and a raised eyebrow.

“You let students around...that.” Mary’s jaw clenched tightly from the way Shirley sneered.

“Around what Ms. Jackson?” Shirley’s face went pale and then a little red. Her mouth opened as though she was going to say something but couldn’t form a working syllable. “I’ll save you the trouble. Zelda and I aren’t doing anything wrong, not once have we been nothing but professional during school hours especially around students. If you could ever stomach to ask properly the students will tell you the same thing that I have. Now if that’s all, could you please go somewhere else where you are wanted.” Zelda bit her lip to stop the snort that was bubbling up inside her. Shirley looked absolutely murderous and not finding anything else to say left with a huff. When she was gone Mary scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Absolutely unbelievable.” Zelda checked her watch, they had five minutes before lunch ended. Zelda got up from her seat, Mary rose an eyebrow as she walked to the door, shutting and locking it. “What are you doing?”

“Being inappropriate.” Zelda kissed Mary deeply. Mary gave off a humm and the buzz felt wonderful against her lips. They broke apart when the bell sounded ending lunch. On her way back to her classroom Zelda saw Shirley, why Zelda couldn’t tell you because the science wing was on the other side of the school. Zelda, feeling bold, fixed her hair that was just out of place and whipped at the bottom of her lips to get rid of some nonexistent lipstick smudges. Shirley gasped and turned away. Zelda just smirked, so worth it.

After that Shirley tried to stay clear of her. Zelda still ran into her from time to time but the second they crossed Shirley would run in the opposite direction. Zelda thought that was the end of it but oh how wrong she was.

* * *

 

Since Mary moved in and the weather picking up, Zelda and Mary would walk together to Vida’s school to pick her up and then back to Baxter high where their car was to head home. It was nice, Vida would walk between them her hand in theirs as she chatted about her day. Zelda noticed how happy she was since the incident with Judas. She even mentioned that at snack time one day she swapped one of her cookies for another treat with another kid. She was still a loner but it was progress and Zelda could live with that. One day, it either a Wednesday or Friday Zelda couldn’t remember which, Shirley was standing outside in front of the highschool. She was talking with Faustus. Zelda stopped slightly but knowing that it would cause worry from both Mary and Vida continued to her car like she didn’t see Faustus and drove away.

A few days later Faustus was at the school, with Shirley. Though it gave Zelda a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach she ignored it as best she could. After signing for Vida Zelda picked up her daughter, she felt better when Viida was close, and walked away as quickly as she could without showing how panicked she was. Mary, who was still at the school to advise a W.I.C.C.A. meeting, was confused and concerned when she saw Zelda but knew that Zelda wouldn’t say anything until she was alone. That night after Vida was tucked in her bed asleep Zelda cried. It was too much, Shirley and now Faustus popping up like he belonged. What did he want? Something told her that it wasn’t anything good and that’s what frightening her. Last she saw him he wanted her daughter and if he… it was too much. When Mary was close she clung to her, crying into her shoulder and holding on as tightly as she could not that Mary was ever going to let her go. Zelda was so strong, her strength was just one of the things that Mary loved about her but every now and again she would break and Mary didn’t mind picking up the pieces. When Zelda was all cried out Mary led them to her, no their bed, and they curled under the comforter, Mary not letting go of Zelda.

* * *

 

“Zelda.” It was the end of another school day. Zelda was finishing up prepping her classroom before moving to her office to finish her grading when Faustus entered. It ticked her off that he entered her classroom without asking.

“How did you get in Faustus?”

“We need to talk Zelda.”

“No we don’t.” Zelda started to brush pass him, papers in hand, when he stopped her by grabbing her elbow.

“You can’t ignore me forever Zelda.” Zelda just glared at him, he had no right to talk to her like this. She didn’t need to tell him off, he, with a huff, left. Zelda, though concerned, didn’t let what Faustus say affect her. After her episode she realized she was letting her fears control her and she was being ridiculous. She wasn’t going to let things that may or may not happen consume her anymore.

* * *

 

It was about a week after Faustus showed up at her school when she came home from work to find a stranger in her house. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of water in front of him and Sabrina was across from him leaning against the sink.

“Sabrina who is this?”

“Oh, Auntie Z this is-”

“Zelda Spellman?” The boy cut her niece off by standing up from his chair. Zelda taken a back looked at him with caution.

“Yes.” Reaching into his messenger bag he pulled out a brown envelope and handed it to her.

“You’ve been served. Have a nice day.” And with that he left.

“What was that about?” Zelda shrugged her shoulders as she opened the envelope. Around her she could hear Sabrina and Mary talk about something but she couldn’t register what it was not when she read the words that she never wanted to see and made her heart stop cold.

“Zelda what’s wrong?” Unceremoniously Zelda sat in a chair which was when Mary came over to her. Zelda looked at Mary, close to tears as she tried to tell her but couldn’t say the words. Eventually she found her voice but when she did, it was small and weak and she hated it.

“He… he wants to take her.” Mary gasped and behind her blue eye Zelda saw pure hatred but knew it wasn’t at her.

“What do you mean Aunt Zelda. Who is taking who?”

“Faustus is suing for custody of Vida.” Saying the words out loud was enough to break her. Tears started to flow from her eyes and when Mary brought her into her arms she bared her head in her shoulder. She couldn’t believe that Faustus would stop this low. What’s worse, she didn’t know how she was going to beat him. She could lose her daughter, her baby, her everything, and it terrified her.


	18. The One With a Little Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!! And with a brand new chapter for you guys. Was it worth the wait? I don't know but here it is! Enjoy!

Since the summons arrived Zelda entered into a state that was a combination of depression and catatonic. She walked around like a zombie, a shell of her former self that could perform her basic humanly functions. Though not lacking in her duties as a teacher her students noticed that Zelda wasn’t herself and Rosalind and Theo asked if there was anything they could do to help but not even Mary knew how to help Zelda beyond just being there. Mary wouldn’t begin to say she understood what Zelda was feeling, yes she loved Vida like her own but the connection that Zelda and Vida had was something deeper. That connection was why whenever Vida was around Zelda painted on a smile to allude that nothing was wrong, acted like everything was normal when every night after tucking Vida into bed Zelda cried. All Mary could do was hold her and wish that there was something that she could do. It came to her one afternoon on a Saturday in April.

That day had been particularly bad. Zelda wouldn’t stop crying, she couldn’t even muster enough energy to get out of bed. Mary shuffled Vida out, saying Zelda was just a little sick and she was okay. Vida looked at her like she didn’t believe her, and to be honest Mary didn’t even believe herself, but she agreed and headed downstairs. In the kitchen Mary and Hilda shared a quick look and a slight nod. Hilda will take care of Zelda, Mary will handle Vida. Armed with a list of errands Mary and Vida left. After stopping at the pharmacy and the home improvement store for some fertilizer the last thing on Hilda’s list was to fix a clasp on a watch of hers that broke. Mary loathed to go into the shopping district on a weekend but wanting to give Hilda as much time as possible she decided to suck it up and go.

The bell on the jewelry store tinkled when Mary entered shaking off her umbrella as it started to rain lightly. Vida who was decked out in her raincoat with matching boots and hat shook her head when Mary took her hat off, causing red ringlets and little droplets of water to fly everywhere. Mary smiled and fussed over Vida’s hair to make it somewhat neat. A salesperson came over and asked how they could help them. When Mary explained that she needed a watched to be fixed the salesperson led her over to one of the glass cases to have a closer look. At first Vida was next to her, holding onto the side of her leather trench coat but becoming bored at having looked at everything in the case started to wonder. Mary was two seconds away from calling Vida back but stopped. Other than her, Vida, and a few other employees there were only two other customers and Vida was smart enough to not go with anyone or out of the store so Mary turned back to the sales person but kept an ear out for the slight ‘ _squelch_ ’ that Vida’s boots made on the shops carpet. After several minutes of looking through watches they eventually found something that could match the original fixture the sales clerk went into the back to talk to the person who did the actual hardware work Mary turned to find Vida.

Vida was standing in front of a glass case filled with little charms and pendants for necklaces and bracelets. The charms were all arranged by shape, grouped together by metal type, gold and silver mostly, and gemstone options. Mary quickly recognized the birthstone gems as the pieces were arranged in neat double rows of six. Vida was, of course, fascinated with the little bear pendants. The pendants were about half the size of Mary’s finger tip but the detail was impressive. The 3D bears had little eyes and noses and a tail on its sitting bottom plus soft carving marks to resemble fur. On one foot was a small round gemstone that fit perfectly with the pad of the bears paw.

“What do you have here baby bear?”

“Look at the little bears Mamma they’re so cute.”

“That they are.” The longer Mary stared at the bears wheel started to turn in her head as an idea started to form. The sales clerk that was helping them with the watch came back pulling Mary away from the bear pendants. The watch was fixable and Mary filled the work order so Hilda could pick it up later.

“Is there anything else I can help you with Ma’am?” Mary thought about it for a minute. The bear pendants came back to mind.

“There is one thing.” Mary took the clerk over to the bear pendants and he pulled out the little shelving they rested on out so she could have a closer look. The bears were, as Mary predicted, part of the stores birthstone collection so each bear had a different gemstone. A gold bear with a 36 inch chain was almost $200, a little steep but for Zelda it was worth it.

“What do you think baby bear?” Mary picked up Vida so she could see the bears more clearly. “Should we get one for you Mom?”

“Yes!” Vida then told the sales clerk when her birthday was, May 16th, and he pulled out a pre boxed bear with an emerald gemstone.

“Would you like to get it engraved? It’s $10 and we can do it today in about an hour.” Tempted Mary agreed, she and Vida could get lunch and come back to get the necklace. Mary told the clerk what she wanted. When she came back for it the necklace was wrapped up nicely in a little box with a blue ribbon.

After some debate Mary decided not to wait until Mother’s Day to give the necklace to Zelda. That next day she recruited Vida to make their special breakfast, french toast light on the powdered sugar and syrup with some egg whites, a small cup of fruit, a lightly buttered biscuit, and a mug of coffee. Balancing the tray Mary and Vida brought it back upstairs to surprise Zelda. Mary hung back with the try as Vida, after setting down the mug of coffee that she was entrusted with on the nightstand, climbed up onto Zelda’s bed to wake her. It didn’t take much, Zelda hasn’t been sleeping well either and it only took a little prodding to wake her.

“Surprise!” Zelda looked at Vida then at Mary as she placed the breakfast tray.

“What is this?”

“Me and Mamma made you our special breakfast. To make you feel better.” Zelda gasped a little in shock, she didn’t know that Vida picked up on her mood, but hid it well.

“Thank you baby.” The bed dipped as Mary joined them on the bed and they shared breakfast. When the tray was empty Mary handed Vida the small box that held the necklace.

“We got you this Mommy.” Zelda took the box, not sure what it could be or why she was receiving this gift. After untying the ribbon the dark blue box opened with a soft crack. Zelda’s eyes widened and she gave a faint gasp. “Do you like it Mommy?” The tiny gold bear looked so much bigger cradled in the soft lining of the box, tiny emerald catching the light. The new addition to the bear, the thing that had Zelda almost in tears, was a tiny engraving on the bears other paw that said ‘V.S.’

“I love it.” Vida smiled and snuggled into her mother’s side. Zelda handed the box to Mary so she could place the necklace on her. Sweeping Zelda’s hair over her shoulder Mary fastened the necklace around Zelda’s slender neck. Though not big the bear stood out against Zelda’s pale skin, the pendant resting lightly on her chest. When the necklace was securely in place Zelda turned back to face Mary and brought her close to share a kiss. Mary returned it, making it just a little deeper and longer.

* * *

 

After that Zelda was in a better mood. She wasn’t 100%, Mary believed that wouldn’t happen until this whole mess was over, but she stopped crying and could muster real small smiles. She also realized that she couldn’t ignore the inevitable anymore. She needed to hire an attorney. Over the next week or so Zelda contacted several law firms that looked to be in her price range and could help her. None of them, even after a respected waiting time, responded back. Zelda started to panic, she knew that Faustus would have an attorney that would destroy her in a single breath. If she wanted even a snowballs chance in hell to keep her daughter she needed her own representation but with no responses she was starting to go back into her depressed state. Just as it seemed that hope was lost Zelda received a very interesting email on Saturday afternoon.

_Dear Ms. Spellman,_

_I heard from the grapevine that you are looking for an attorney for an upcoming custody case. My name is Daniel Webster, I don’t have a law firm nor work for one but I do have a license to practice law with a decade worth of trial experience. An old friend of mine from one of the law firms that you contacted pointed me in your direction and gave me your email, I hope you don’t mind. I would like to take your case pro bono. To prove that I am not a scammer we can meet in a neutral location on your terms and I have attached some links to a few of the cases that I worked on. Write me back when you can._

_Signed,_  
_Daniel Webster_

Deciding to take a leap of faith Zelda wrote back to Mr. Webster that she would meet him at Hilda’s book shop just after breakfast. Vida was with Mary, Zelda dropped them off at the park with a promise that if they got tired or if the weather turned bad to come to the store. Dr. Cee allowed her to use his back office for the meeting, it was quiet and it plus the tea that Hilda gave her helped her remain calm. At five past ten Hilda let in a middle age man with short white hair and beard and dressed in a nice but not flashy navy blue suit.

“Ms. Spellman.” Mr. Webster held out his hand and they shook hands for a brief moment. Hilda asked Mr. Webster if he would like anything but he said no. With that Hilda closed the door behind her and she and Mr. Webster were alone. Mr. Webster opened his briefcase and took out a legal pad and pen. “So let’s begin. According to court documents a Faustus Blackwood is suing you for full custody of your daughter.”

“Yes.”

“Is he the child’s biological father?”

“Unfortunately.”

“And when did your relationship end?”

“About a month after I found out I was pregnant.” After she gave her answer Mr. Weber straightened up.

“You have had no contact with Mr. Blackwood before now?”

“None whatsoever.”

“Good. We can use that. Do you have the girls birth certificate?” Zelda pulled out a folder from her purse that contained all of the important papers regarding Vida. Each family member had their own folder in a locked drawer in the credenza next to the kitchen. Zelda handed Mr. Weber Vida’s birth certificate. Mr. Webster scanned over the document and his eyes widened. Zelda didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad.

“Ms. Spellman we have nothing to worry about.” Zelda’s heart stopped in her chest but it was a good stop. A huge wave a relief blew over her and she felt like she could breathe again without this crushing weight against her. She didn’t know why she had so much confidence in Mr. Webster but she did and if he said she didn’t have to worry than she won’t. She really hoped he was right.

With their meeting concluded Zelda went out to the main area. Mary and Vida weren’t there, they still must be at the park. Zelda, after debate decided to walk the short distance to the park. The weather was nice, sunny with just a bit of cloud and a nice breeze that was refreshing but not knee shaking. When she arrived at the park Vida was hanging from the monkey bars with Mary close to her ready to spring into action if Vida needed her. Zelda was impressed as Vida made the last four bars to the landing on the jungle gym set. Though too far away to hear Mary said something that made Vida flush with pride and she ran off to the higher part of the jungle gym. When Zelda reached Mary she took the other woman’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Meeting went well?” Zelda nodded and rested her head against Mary’s shoulder. Given hope Zelda could relax enough to enjoy physical contact with Mary. Mary let go of Zelda’s hand to drape her arm over Zelda’s shoulder. They stayed that way until Vida called out to them, she was standing at the opening of a slide. Zelda moved to the end so that when Vida reached it she scooped her up. Vida giggled as Zelda pressed her close and kissed her cheek.

“Ready to go?” Vida nodded and they, after Zelda took Mary’s hand again, walked back to the car to go home.


End file.
